N. Korea Seeks 'Non-Aggression Treaty'

North Korea on Friday said it wants a "non-aggression treaty" with the United States to resolve security concerns on the Korean peninsula.

Citing an unidentified Foreign Ministry official, the North's state-run news agency, KCNA, reported the offer amid concerns over the communist country's nuclear weapons program.

"The DPRK considers that it is a reasonable and realistic solution to the nuclear issue to conclude a non-aggression treaty between the DPRK and the U.S. if the grave situation of the Korean peninsula is to be bridged over," the report said. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Foreign Ministry official said North Korea was willing to make a deal with the United States if it recognizes the North's sovereignty, assures it of non-aggression and does not hinder its economic development.

"Nowadays, the U.S. and its followers assert that negotiations should be held after the DPRK puts down its arms. This is a very abnormal logic," said the English-language report on KCNA.

"Then, how can the DPRK counter any attack with empty hands? Their assertion is little short of demanding the DPRK yield to pressure, which means death," it said.

The North Korean official also accused the United States of disregarding the terms of a 1994 accord under which the North agreed to suspend its nuclear weapons program. U.S. officials have said the North's nuclear program is a brazen violation of international accords.

The development came as President Bush prepared to confer this weekend with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, the chief U.S. allies in Northeast Asia, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Mexico.

The United States, which is considering war against Iraq, is intent on mustering diplomatic pressure on North Korea and says it seeks a peaceful resolution. But Washington says the North's second nuclear program is not up for negotiation, as the first one was eight years ago, and must be dismantled at once.

Under the so-called Agreed Framework in 1994, the North promised to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program in return for the U.S.-led construction of two modern, light-water reactors and 500,000 tons of fuel oil a year until the reactors are completed.

North Korea has repeatedly accused the United States of being slow to build the reactors, which are years behind schedule.

On Friday, the North Korean official said Bush's characterization of North Korea as part of an "axis of evil," along with Iran and Iraq, had amounted to a nullification of the Agreed Framework.

He also said that the United States was unwilling to implement the deal, "calculating that the DPRK would collapse sooner or later."

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who visited Pyongyang earlier this month, said the North Koreans admitted to having a second nuclear program and declared that the Agreed Framework was nullified

North Korea is desperate for aid from the United States and its allies to revive its shattered economy. Some South Korean officials had put a positive spin on its unusual admission of a nuclear weapons program, saying it was evidence of a desire to negotiate a "package" deal on its weapons programs in exchange for economic help.