NORTH KOREAN LEADER REACHES OUT TO U.S.(MAIN)

Byline: MICHAEL WINES New York Times

MOSCOW -- The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, on Saturday repeated a promise to suspend ballistic-missile launchings until 2003, saying in a declaration with President Vladimir Putin that his nation's missile program ``does not present a threat to nations respecting North Korea's sovereignty.''

The declaration, aimed squarely at the United States' proposal to build a defense against ballistic-missile attacks by so-called rogue states, came at a Kremlin meeting of the two leaders that capped Kim's 10-day journey to Moscow by rail.

The United States has repeatedly cited a threat from North Korea as part of its …