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In an extremely rare public expression, North Korea officially thanked the United States for helping the crew of a North Korean cargo ship hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast late last month, describing the rescue as a symbol of Washington-Pyongyang rapprochement."We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen. This case serves as a symbol of the DPRK [North Korea]-U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said.Seven pirates, "disguised as guards," boarded the North Korean vessel on Oct. 29 and demanded that the sailors pay them $15,000. Responding to a distress signal from the North Korean vessel, the USS James E. Williams and a helicopter rushed to the scene and "helped the [North Korean] sailors in fighting, threatening the pirates over walkie-talkie," KCNA said. The U.S. response was basically, "just doing our job." It was an unprecedented move in the half century of hostility between the Cold War foes. The U.S. sailors also provided medical assistance to the crew."The pirates' recent armed attack on our trading ship was a grave terrorist act perpetrated against a peaceful ship," KCNA said. "It is the consistent principled stand of the [North Korean] government to oppose all sorts of terrorism,” it said."We will continue to render international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, in the future, too," said the official mouthpiece of North Korea, which has been on the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism since 1988 and labeled by President Bush as part of an "axis of evil."The United States and North Korea are technically at war since the Korean War ended in an armistice agreement in 1953. Under a recent landmark deal, the United Sates has promised to improve bilateral ties as a reward for North Korea to disable its nuclear weapons facilities.In other symbols of thawing ties, the North's Taekwondo demonstration team made its first-ever visit to the United States in September and officials from the New York Philharmonic visited Pyongyang in October to consider a possible concert there next year.As in the days of Noah...
