North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country had no reason to establish relations with the United States if Washington stopped its hostile policy towards Pyongyang, but rejected Seoul's offer to engage in dialogue as "deceitful," according to North Korean state media on Thursday.
Leader Kim made the remarks during a policy review session held last Friday and Saturday at the Ninth Congress of the ruling Korean Workers' Party, which ended a day earlier, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"We have no reason not to establish relations with the United States if they respect our current state of being, as defined in the North Korean constitution, and stop their hostile policy towards North Korea," Leader Kim said, quoted by The Korea Times from KCNA (26/2).
"The prospects for North Korea-US relations entirely depend on the US attitude," continued Leader Kim, adding that his party would take "appropriate" responses if Washington maintained its confrontational attitude.
"Whether it is peaceful coexistence or eternal confrontation, we are ready for both, and the choice is not in our hands," Kim Jong Un said.
The statement shows North Korea is opening the door to talks with Washington, as President Donald Trump's visit to China in April is expected to provide an opportunity to resume summit talks with Leader Kim, following repeated approaches from the US President.
On the other hand, Leader Kim called Seoul's reconciliation gesture under the Lee Jae Myung Administration "deceitful", warning that the regime would permanently exclude South Korea from the "same category of people."
In 2024, Leader Kim described inter-Korean relations as enemy relations and has since maintained a hostile policy towards Seoul.
"We will not deal with South Korea, the most hostile entity," Kim said, adding that this stance would be confirmed in the policies of the ruling party.
He accused the South Korean government of previously "trying to overthrow the North Korean regime," and said "the reconciliation attitude currently being pursued by the Seoul government on the surface is a reckless deception."
On the same occasion, Leader Kim also reaffirmed North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state, and promised to further increase weapons development.
"It is the firm and unwavering determination of our party to further strengthen the country's nuclear force and fully exercise the status of a nuclear-armed state," said Leader Kim.
"Our status as a nuclear-armed state plays an important role in preventing potential enemy threats and maintaining regional stability," he said, calling the country's nuclear weapons a "guarantee and a safety tool" for its security and interests.
He also promised to continue North Korea's nuclear weapons production and hinted at the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can be transported by sea, saying five years from now, "the country's defense power will reach a level that the enemy cannot handle."
"We have plans every year to strengthen the country's nuclear strength and will focus on increasing the number of nuclear weapons, expanding nuclear operational capabilities, and expanding the scope of their use," Leader Kim said when outlining the five-year defense development plan.
He added that ICBMs launched from land and undersea, drones equipped with artificial intelligence, surveillance satellites, and strategic and electric weapons capable of targeting enemy satellites and command systems during wartime were things that would be pursued in the five-year plan.
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