North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un said he has "fond memories" of US President Donald Trump and is open to future talks with the United States -- if he can keep his nuclear arsenal .
Kim Jong Un met Donald Trump three times for high-profile summits during Trump’s first term, but talks broke down in Hanoi in 2019 over what concessions Pyongyang was willing to make on its nuclear weapons.
Washington’s demand that Kim abandon his banned arsenal has long been a sticking point, with North Korea facing successive rounds of UN sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs.
"If the United States discards its delusional obsession with denuclearisation and, based on recognising reality, truly wishes for peaceful coexistence with us, then there is no reason we cannot meet it," Kim said, according to a report Monday by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"I still personally hold fond memories of the current US president, Trump," Kim added in a wide-ranging speech to the country’s Supreme People’s Assembly.
Since the failed 2019 summit, Pyongyang has repeatedly said it will never abandon its nuclear arsenal and has declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state .
Kim reaffirmed that denuclearisation was off the table.
"The world already knows well what the United States does after it forces a country to give up its nuclear arms and disarm," he said.
"We will never give up our nuclear weapons."
He argued that sanctions had only strengthened North Korea by "growing stronger, building endurance and resistance that cannot be crushed by any pressure."
Kim also dismissed engagement with Seoul, saying he had "no reason to sit down with South Korea " despite new President Lee Jae-myung’s efforts to ease tensions.
"We make it clear that we will not deal with them in any form," he said.
Kim’s remarks underline Pyongyang’s demand for recognition as a nuclear state before any talks can begin, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
"It reaffirms the North’s stance that recognition as a nuclear-armed state, along with a willingness to improve relations with it, are the prerequisites for dialogue," Hong told AFP.
"It calls for a fundamental shift toward equal dialogue and improved relations as a nuclear-armed state."
In recent years, North Korea has branded the South its main enemy and destroyed rail and road links between the two sides.
Kim Jong Un met Donald Trump three times for high-profile summits during Trump’s first term, but talks broke down in Hanoi in 2019 over what concessions Pyongyang was willing to make on its nuclear weapons.
Washington’s demand that Kim abandon his banned arsenal has long been a sticking point, with North Korea facing successive rounds of UN sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs.
"If the United States discards its delusional obsession with denuclearisation and, based on recognising reality, truly wishes for peaceful coexistence with us, then there is no reason we cannot meet it," Kim said, according to a report Monday by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"I still personally hold fond memories of the current US president, Trump," Kim added in a wide-ranging speech to the country’s Supreme People’s Assembly.
Since the failed 2019 summit, Pyongyang has repeatedly said it will never abandon its nuclear arsenal and has declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state .
Kim reaffirmed that denuclearisation was off the table.
"The world already knows well what the United States does after it forces a country to give up its nuclear arms and disarm," he said.
"We will never give up our nuclear weapons."
He argued that sanctions had only strengthened North Korea by "growing stronger, building endurance and resistance that cannot be crushed by any pressure."
Kim also dismissed engagement with Seoul, saying he had "no reason to sit down with South Korea " despite new President Lee Jae-myung’s efforts to ease tensions.
"We make it clear that we will not deal with them in any form," he said.
Kim’s remarks underline Pyongyang’s demand for recognition as a nuclear state before any talks can begin, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
"It reaffirms the North’s stance that recognition as a nuclear-armed state, along with a willingness to improve relations with it, are the prerequisites for dialogue," Hong told AFP.
"It calls for a fundamental shift toward equal dialogue and improved relations as a nuclear-armed state."
In recent years, North Korea has branded the South its main enemy and destroyed rail and road links between the two sides.
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