By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 15, 2008 Filed at 7:51 a.m. ET
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea's No. 2 leader blamed the United States for a deadlock at nuclear arms talks as top officials gathered Friday on the eve of one of the country's biggest holidays: the birthday of ruler Kim Jong Il.
Kim Yong Nam, speaking before hundreds of soldiers and other bureaucrats, repeated the North's assertion that instability on the Korean peninsula was caused by ''the continuous U.S. hostile policy.''
Kim Jong Il, who turns 66 on Saturday, was not present at the ceremony, which was broadcast on North Korean state TV. His birthday is treated as one of the communist nation's most important national holidays, one North Korea's official media asserts is celebrated around the world.
''U.S. hard-line conservative forces have been provoking us and have deliberately aggravated the tension on the Korean peninsula with reckless military modernization plans behind the scenes of the six-party talks,'' Kim Yong Nam said, referring to the stalled nuclear negotiations.
It was not clear what military plans he was referring to. The U.S. has said it has been upgrading the technical capabilities of its forces as it reduces the number of troops deployed in South Korea to about 25,000 by the end of the year.
His speech was constantly interrupted by applause from uniformed soldiers, ruling Workers' Party members and other government officials who packed a Pyongyang hall.
International disarmament talks have stalled amid a dispute over whether the North missed its Dec. 31 deadline to declare all its nuclear programs. The North has said it already provided a list of its nuclear programs, while the U.S. says it has not received a complete declaration.
Under a 2007 deal with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, the North agreed to disable its main plutonium-making facilities and account for all its nuclear programs in return for 1 million tons of oil aid and political concessions.
The North has usually celebrated leader Kim's birthday with massive art performances, fireworks, music concerts, symposiums and other concerts.
North Koreans also receive benefits such as extra food on major holidays. However, it is not clear whether the regime can dole out such largeness this year, as the country's economy has been a shambles since the mid-1990s due to natural disasters and mismanagement.
Kim Jong Il took over the communist country after his father and founding president, Kim Il Sung, died of a heart failure in 1994, in communism's first hereditary power succession. He has three sons with two different mothers but has not anointed any of them as his successor.
