North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has expressed a surprising openness to resuming discussions with former U.S. President Donald Trump, but there’s a significant condition: the United States must abandon its insistence on North Korea’s complete denuclearization.
Kim’s comments, delivered in a speech to the North Korean parliament on Sunday and reported by state media on Monday, come just days after Trump announced his intention to travel to South Korea in late October for a regional summit meeting. This sets the stage for potential renewed diplomacy.
Having met Kim three times during his first term (in 2018 and 2019), President Trump has consistently voiced a desire to meet the North Korean leader again since returning to the White House, often highlighting their “good relationship.” North Korean state media has also previously acknowledged that Kim’s relations with Trump were “not bad.” However, Sunday’s speech marks the first time since Trump began his second term that Kim has personally addressed their dynamic.
“Personally, I still have good memories of U.S. President Trump,” Kim stated. “If the U.S. drops its hollow obsession with denuclearization and wants to pursue peaceful coexistence with North Korea based on the recognition of reality, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the U.S.”
In stark contrast to his tone regarding the U.S., Kim Jong-un directed harsh criticism towards South Korea, rejecting calls for inter-Korean dialogue from the South’s leader, Lee Jae Myung. He firmly declared that North Korea would never engage in talks with the South or discuss the reunification of the divided peninsula.
“We will never unify with a country that entrusts its politics and defense to a foreign power,” he asserted, clearly referencing South Korea’s long-standing military alliance with the United States.
During President Trump’s first term, South Korea played a key role in mediating the three meetings between the two leaders. Unfortunately, these discussions concluded without a definitive agreement on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program or lifting the international sanctions imposed on the country.
In those earlier negotiations, Kim had offered to dismantle some of his nation’s nuclear facilities in exchange for the lifting of crucial sanctions, such as the ban on North Korea’s primary exports including coal, iron ore, textiles, and fishery products. However, Trump sought a more extensive reduction of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
Following the breakdown of those talks, Kim has significantly ramped up his efforts to produce nuclear weapon fuel and develop advanced nuclear-capable missiles. He has since dismissed South Korea as a viable dialogue partner and unequivocally vowed never to negotiate away his country’s nuclear arsenal. This stance was reaffirmed with even greater emphasis in his Sunday speech.
“I affirm that there will never, never be denuclearization for us,” Kim declared, emphasizing that North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons power is “irreversible” and not something to be traded for sanctions relief.
Analysts in South Korea have noted the strategic timing of Kim’s recent remarks. They closely followed President Trump’s social media announcement on Friday that he plans to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping there.
While South Korean officials do not anticipate Kim’s presence at the APEC meeting in Gyeongju, past events show that unexpected encounters are possible. For instance, Kim and Trump previously met on short notice in 2019 at Panmunjom, a village that straddles the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.
However, given the current strained relations between the two Koreas, orchestrating a similar impromptu meeting this time would be considerably more challenging, according to Lee Byong-chul, an analyst at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.
Despite the challenges, the perceived “friendly exchange” between Trump and Kim has undoubtedly improved the prospects for renewed diplomacy. Should another meeting occur, analysts predict that Kim would likely push for Washington to ease sanctions on North Korea in exchange for a freeze on its nuclear weapons program. Such a development would, in essence, grant North Korea recognition as a nuclear weapons state.
“It would be a huge trophy for Kim,” Mr. Lee observed.
Kim Jong-un now wields greater leverage compared to his initial round of negotiations. The escalating tensions between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow have inadvertently played into his hands, with both China and Russia using their veto power to block U.S.-led attempts to impose additional sanctions on North Korea. Furthermore, in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kim has solidified his alliance with President Vladimir V. Putin, providing North Korean troops and weapons to bolster Russia’s war efforts.
Last year, Russia and North Korea formally signed an alliance treaty. Just earlier this month, Kim was seen standing alongside both President Xi and President Putin during a military parade in Beijing, showcasing a united front.
On Sunday, Kim Jong-un confidently declared that in his country’s ongoing confrontation with the United States, “time is on our side.”