North Korea Declares a New Willingness to Talk to South

In a major policy change that could help bring peace to the divided Korean peninsula, North Korea said it is willing to talk with a new South Korean government to be installed next week.

In a report carried by its official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday, Pyongyang’s Communist government declared that it is ready to end an era of confrontation with its southern rival.

“We make clear that we are willing to have dialogue and negotiation with anyone in South Korea, including political parties and organizations,” the news agency quoted Kim Yong Sun, a top North Korean policymaker, as saying.

“The North and the South must promote coexistence, co-prosperity, common interests, mutual collaboration and unity between fellow countrymen,” it quoted Kim as saying.

Kim, a member of the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party, spelled out the North’s new position in a report to a meeting Wednesday of the country’s major political parties and organizations, the news agency reported.

Kim, who also serves as chairman of the Reunification Policy Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, or parliament, is regarded as a close confidant of leader Kim Jong Il.

In Seoul, South Korean President-elect Kim Dae Jung’s party, the National Congress for New Politics, welcomed the North Korean move, calling it “a sign of change in the North’s attitude.”

Kim Dae Jung, the first opposition leader elected president in South Korea, takes office Wednesday.

He has expressed a commitment to pursuing a thaw with Pyongyang.