North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he still holds positive memories of former U.S. President Donald Trump and suggested he would be open to another meeting if the United States drops its demand for denuclearization.
As President Trump prepares to visit South Korea next month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, speculation is growing about the possibility of an unexpected meeting between North Korea and the United States.
According to The Korean Central News Agency on the 22nd, Kim delivered these remarks during a speech at the 13th meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on the 21st.
“I still personally hold good memories of President Trump,” Kim said. “If the U.S. abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization and genuinely seeks peaceful coexistence with us based on reality, there is no reason we would refuse a meeting.”
However, Kim made it clear that North Korea has no plans to give up its nuclear weapons. He argued that past U.S. actions against disarmed nations prove the necessity of maintaining nuclear deterrence.
“The world already knows what the U.S. does after disarming and demilitarizing a country,” he said. “We will never give up our nuclear weapons. There will be no negotiations—now or ever—that trade anything with hostile countries in exchange for lifting sanctions.”
Kim warned Washington and its allies against underestimating North Korea’s capabilities. “If Western hegemonic powers led by the U.S. continue their delusion that they can defeat or subdue the DPRK through sanctions or force, they are mistaken,” he said.
He added that North Korea’s war deterrent remains active: “I hope its primary mission is never lost. But if it is, the secondary mission will be activated. If that happens, the military structures of South Korea, its regional allies, and their infrastructures will collapse instantly—an outcome I do not desire.”
Kim also ruled out any negotiations with Seoul, condemning South Korea’s reliance on foreign powers. “We have no intention of unifying with a country that has outsourced its politics and national defense,” he said. “The Republic of Korea is a deformed, semi-paralyzed entity, a colonial vassal state, and essentially a foreign country. Unification is absolutely unnecessary. Why would we pursue unification that would require eliminating one side?”
Rejecting the Lee Jae-myung administration’s “three-stage demilitarization theory” of suspension, reduction, and disarmament, Kim called it “a recycled idea borrowed from past leaders who sought our disarmament.” He added that North Korea would move to legally formalize its status as permanently separate from South Korea, suggesting that constitutional revisions are still underway.
