North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he holds “fond memories” of former US President Donald Trump and remains open to future talks with Washington — but only if allowed to keep his nuclear arsenal.
Kim, who met Trump three times during his first term before talks collapsed at the 2019 Hanoi summit, reiterated that denuclearisation is not an option for Pyongyang.
“If the United States discards its delusional obsession with denuclearisation and truly wishes for peaceful coexistence with us, then there is no reason we cannot meet it,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim accused the US of forcing countries to disarm before leaving them vulnerable, declaring:
“We will never give up our nuclear weapons.”
The North Korean leader added that sanctions had only strengthened his country’s resilience, while dismissing the possibility of talks with South Korea under President Lee Jae-myung. “We make it clear that we will not deal with them in any form,” he said, noting that the South remains Pyongyang’s “principal enemy.”
The remarks come just ahead of Trump’s scheduled visit to South Korea for the APEC Summit in Gyeongju next month. Analysts suggest the timing may be deliberate.
“Kim’s comments hinted at the possibility of a surprise summit, while also appealing to Trump’s desire for global recognition, including a Nobel Prize,” said Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University.
