What's Gotten Into N. Korea?

A Recent Spate of Friendly Gestures May Signal New Priorities

SEOUL, Oct. 15 -- There have been hiccups, such as the five missiles it fired on Monday and a stern warning on Thursday about the sanctity of maritime borders, but North Korea seems focused this fall on smoothing feathers it ruffled earlier in the year.

In a highly unusual move, the government of Kim Jong Il expressed "regrets" Wednesday that the release of water in September from a northern dam created a flash flood that killed six South Koreans.

On Thursday, the North's statement of "deep condolences" to the families of the dead-- which the South Korean government regarded as an apology -- seemed to bear fruit. South Korea indicated it may resume unconditional North food aid to the North -- a move that would represent a major change in South Korean policy.

"We will provide limited humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable groups in North Korea regardless of political and security circumstances," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said in a speech to the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, according to the Associated Press. Nyun did not specify how much aid would be given or when.

For nearly a decade, South Korea was a reliable donor of food and fertilizer to the impoverished North. Seoul asked few questions about where its aid went.

But deliveries ended in 2008, when the South demanded monitoring of where the food was distributed and who received it. North Korea has adamantly refused to make such an agreement. There are many reports that South Korean aid has been used by the military.

Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, North Korea's foreign minister met with the son of evangelist Billy Graham in what the state's official news agency described as an "amicable atmosphere."

The Rev. Franklin Graham, head of a private relief agency, said he traveled to Pyongyang this week in an attempt to build "a bridge for better relations" between the United States and North Korea. In the spring, the North kicked U.S. relief organizations out of the country and stopped accepting shipments of U.S. government food aid.

Also in the spring, North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile, detonated a nuclear device and declared that it would never again participate in six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Its behavior triggered tough U.N. sanctions that several South Korean experts said are squeezing the North's ability to profit from the sale of missiles and other weapons.

The North's cycle of provocation seemed to end in August, when it released two imprisoned American journalists and reopened its border with the South. Pyongyang's propaganda machine has stopped making regular threats of "all-out war" against its neighbors.

Instead, Kim suggested last week that his country would be willing to resume international arms talks, if it could first hold discussions with the United States.

In another signal of changed priorities, North Korea's largest newspaper called Wednesday for better ties with South Korea.

Those ties have been severely strained since the 2007 election of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who stopped aid and economic development programs for the North, until it agrees to get rid of its nuclear weapons.

In a commentary, the newspaper said, "It is the unwavering will of our republic to proactively realize reconciliation, unity, cooperation and exchanges according to the joint declarations" between North and South Korea.

Nearly two years ago, Pyongyang cut off reunions for families separated by the Korean War. But in September it allowed them to resume. Officials from the two countries plan to meet Friday to schedule more reunions.