NKoreans skeptical of US nuke deal PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - A nuclear deal with the United States may have raised hopes that tensions on the Korean peninsula could ease soon, but rare interviews by The Associated Press with North Koreans in Pyongyang suggest deep cynicism of U.S. intentions. The announcement of an agreement to freeze North Korea's nuclear activities in exchange for food aid was breaking news in Washington, where it was seen as a promising first step toward discussing nuclear disarmament. But in North Korea's capital, where North Koreans are taught from childhood to hate Americans, skepticism ran deep Friday. "I heard the news, but I'm not very excited," Jong Yun Hui, 43, told the AP. She said many rounds of talks over the years have failed to result in food or much-needed energy. "I have no faith in the U.S.," she said. Under the deal announced Wednesday, North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and observe a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, and to allow the return of U.N. inspectors expelled in 2009. In return, the U.S. promised 240,000 metric tons of food aid, mostly for hungry children, as well as to help facilitate cultural, educational and athletic exchanges. Next week, a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator is scheduled to travel to New York to attend a security conference organized by Syracuse University in a trip seen as an early sign of warming relations under new leader Kim Jong Un even as there is widespread skepticism that the deal will hold. The United States and North Korea fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War, finally signing a truce in 1953 to stop a conflict that left millions dead and millions of families divided. They have never signed a peace treaty, and the Korean peninsula remains divided by the world's most heavily fortified border. From childhood, North Koreans are taught to hate the "American wolves." The U.S. is blamed for the division of the Korean peninsula and is routinely accused of seeking to invade the North on South Korea's behalf. However, in recent years, many of the posters that urged North Koreans to attack the Americans have been taken down and replaced with ones reflecting the new policy of building up the economy. In Pyongyang, a spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry told the state-run Korean Central News Agency in a dispatch sent late Wednesday that the steps are confidence-building measures designed to improve relations between North Korea and the U.S. However, the news was not at the top of the evening broadcast on the state-run TV channel or on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper. News was trickling down to Pyongyang residents, but many seemed unwilling to accept that North Korea was ready to give up a nuclear program that was the country's pride and joy during late leader Kim Jong Il's rule. Bombs and missiles were considered the chief deterrent against the military threat posed by the United States, which keeps more than 28,000 troops in South Korea. "My personal opinion is that it's not desirable to give up the nuclear power," an officer serving in the Korean People's Army told the AP. It is the greatest achievement of the dear general (Kim Jong Il) and the honorable legacy he left to the people. "Isn't it because we have a war deterrent that the U.S. is trying to have talks with us instead of a war?" said the soldier, who asked to remain anonymous. He called himself a "soldier who obeys orders" and said if his leadership believes talks are necessary, he would accept it, a response that reflects the common habit of deferring to government propaganda. "However, the U.S. is launching large-scale military drills behind its back while saying it's holding talks for peace," he said. Should we remain still while the U.S. is acting ambivalently? We are prepared for both war and dialogue. Another Pyongyang resident, O Myong Ok, sounded supportive of the bid to improve relations. "How wonderful it would be if the tension on the Korean peninsula could be eased by having one- or two-day talks," O, 38, told the AP after hearing that the sides agreed to the deal in Beijing after two days of negotiations. But the skepticism quickly took over: "I don't believe that will happen," she said.