North Korea's envoy to the United Nations says his country does not want to remain a US enemy forever.

Pak Gil-yon on Thursday said the North wants American respect for its ideology and system in a speech at a forum sponsored at the University of Toronto.

Concurrently the North's ambassador to Canada, Pak said Pyongyang has exchanges in economy, science and technology with 60 countries worldwide based on its three diplomatic principles of independence, peace and amity.

However, Pak reiterated the North's position that the six-party talks are useless so long as Washington refers to the North as "axis of evil" or "outpost of tyranny."