PYONGYANG (Kyodo) Japan and North Korea need a new accord to improve bilateral relations and Pyongyang is ready to hold talks with the incoming administration of Yukio Hatoyama, a senior North Korean official said Friday.
Song Il Ho, ambassador for normalization talks with Japan, said in an interview in Pyongyang that an agreement the two countries struck in August last year in Shenyang, China, has become "invalid" due to departing Prime Minister Taro Aso's "hostile" policy toward the North.
"Under a Democratic Party of Japan-led administration, we need to get a fresh start (in bilateral talks for a new agreement) based on the spirit of the Pyongyang Declaration," Song said, referring to a 2002 accord committing the two countries to work toward normalizing relations.