North Korea extends possible olive branch to Washington

North Korea is ready to improve relations with “friendly” countries, the communist country’s No. 2 leader said Sunday ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Asia.

The remark by Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, could be an olive branch to Washington before Clinton’s trip – even though it came amid reports the North is gearing up to test-fire a long-range missile in an apparent attempt to grab President Barack Obama’s attention.

“We will develop relations with countries that are friendly toward us,” Kim told a national meeting held as part of celebrations on the eve of the 67th birthday of leader Kim Jong Il, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea has also been escalating tensions with the South, declaring all peace pacts with Seoul dead in anger over the hard-line stance South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has taken toward it.

In Seoul, outgoing U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill met with his South Korean counterpart to discuss Clinton’s trip and heightened tension on the Korean peninsula.

“We’ve had too many interruptions and the interruptions have slowed us down too much,” Hill said, referring to stalled international talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs. The negotiations are deadlocked over the North’s refusal to fully verify its past nuclear activities.