North Korea vows no softening under its new leader

North Korea vows no softening under its new leader

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea warned the world today there would be no softening of its position toward South Korea’s government after Kim Jong Il’s death as Pyongyang strengthened his son and heir’s authority with a new title: Great Leader. North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission said the country would never deal with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who stopped a no-strings-attached aid policy toward the North in 2008