North Korea said Saturday that it will implement inter-Korean summit agreements reached last year, and will not tolerate any "hostile" acts by the United States.

In a speech to congratulate the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim Yong Nam, the communist country's number-two leader, vowed to implement the October 4 inter-Korean inter-Korean summit declaration.

He also said that his country will deal "sternly" with any minor acts of hostility by the United States.

In addition, he stressed his country's economic reconstruction, urging North Koreans to make 2008 a year of historic shift.