North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he had “fond memories” of U.S. President Donald Trump and would be open to resuming talks with the United States under certain conditions. The two leaders met three times during Trump’s first term, including a brief meeting at the DMZ in June 2019. File White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/UPI | License Photo
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he has “fond memories” of U.S. President Donald Trump and claimed Pyongyang would be open to holding talks with Washington if the demand for denuclearization is taken off the table, state media reported Monday.
Kim made the remarks during a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“If the United States abandons its vain obsession with denuclearization, acknowledges reality and desires genuine peaceful coexistence with us, there is no reason why we should not sit down with the United States, “Kim said.
“I personally still have fond memories of the current U.S. President Trump,” he added.
During Trump’s first term, the two leaders held a pair of high-profile summits and met briefly a third time at the DMZ. The diplomatic outreach failed to result in a nuclear deal, however, and Pyongyang has accelerated the development of its weapons programs in the intervening years.
In a June report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that North Korea currently possesses about 50 nuclear warheads and has enough fissile material for 40 more.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has suggested on several occasions that he would likely meet with Kim again.
“Someday, I’ll see [Kim],” Trump said during a White House meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung last month. “I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me.”
Both Seoul and Washington have continued to call for the North’s denuclearization, but South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has begun suggesting a phased approach.
Lee, who has made an effort to improve relations with the North since taking office in June, told the BBC on Monday that he would agree to a deal between Trump and Kim that would initially freeze the North’s production of nuclear weapons.
“So long as we do not give up on the long-term goal of denuclearization, I believe there are clear benefits to having North Korea stop its nuclear and missile development,” Lee said.
Kim, however, flatly rejected any such approach in his remarks, noting the North passed a law declaring itself a nuclear-armed state in 2022 and later amended its constitution to enshrine the permanent growth of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.
“The concept of ‘denuclearization’ has already lost its meaning,” Kim said.
“The world already knows what the United States does after making a country give up its nuclear weapons and disarm,” he said. “We will never give up our nuclear weapons.”
Kim added that the North would not look to make a deal in exchange for relief from U.S.-led international sanctions, which have long been seen as a powerful negotiating tool for Washington and Seoul.
“The sanctions imposed by hostile forces have taught us to become stronger and have fostered a resilience and resistance that cannot be swayed by any pressure,” Kim said.
