North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated there is no need to shun dialogue with the US if Washington ceases demanding his nation abandon nuclear weapons but he will never sacrifice the nuclear arsenal in exchange for sanctions relief, state media stated on Monday.
Speaking during a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday, Kim stated: “Personally, I still have fond memories of US President (Donald) Trump,” KCNA reported. The two had three meetings under Trump’s first presidency.
The remarks are made as the new liberal government of Seoul is urging Trump to lead the way in resuming dialogue with Kim, six years after all peace talks with Pyongyang fell apart over a disagreement on sanctions and nuclear dismantling.
North Korea can communicate with US if it ceases to insist on denuclearisation, Kim declares
“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” Kim was quoted as saying.
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It was a question of survival for the nation to develop nuclear arms to protect its security from serious threats from the United States and South Korea, Kim stated, enumerating a succession of routine military exercises by the allies that he claimed have become maneuvers for a nuclear war.
The latest overtures by Washington and Seoul for talks are insincere because their underlying intention to weaken the North and topple his regime continues unabated, Kim declared, citing a phased proposal by Seoul on shutting down the North’s nuclear programs as evidence of that.
The world already knows very well what the United States does after making a country sacrifice its nuclear weapons and disarm,” Kim said. “We will never abandon our nuclear weapons.”
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‘NO ETERNITY NEGOTIATIONS’
There will never be, and will never ever be for eternity, any negotiations with enemies of exchanging some things out of some obsession with lifting sanctions.”
Sanctions have been “a learning experience” and made his country stronger and more resilient, he said.
North Korea has been subject to a series of UN Security Council resolutions that include economic sanctions and arms embargoes which have tightened funding for military development but it has persisted in developing nuclear weapons and advanced ballistic missiles.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told Reuters in an interview that those sanctions have finally not dissuaded the North, which is now adding huge nuclear weapons between 15 and 20 to its arsenal annually.
“The fact is, the old method of pressure and sanctions has not fixed the issue; it has made it worse,” Lee said.
Lee has made overtures for peace since becoming president in June, stating that talks with Pyongyang were needed, and has laid out measures to increase confidence-building and ultimately put an end to the North’s nuclear program.
Lee said there were daunting barriers to reviving talks with the North but he still thought the step-by-step dismantling of Pyongyang’s nuclear program remained the realistic option.
There was a need to establish appropriate conditions in order to get the North back to the negotiating table and Trump plays a central role in that, Lee added.
