DPRK's Kim: Past diplomacy exposed persistent US hostility

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 08:45

Speaking at a defense exhibition, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un reflects on the lack of progress from previous talks with the US, particularly during Donald Trump’s former tenure.

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This photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech in the National Mothers’ Meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP)

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un declared that past diplomatic efforts with the United States only revealed Washington's "unchanging" hostility toward Pyongyang, according to state media reports on Friday.

His comments come months before Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

During his presidency, Trump met with Kim three times, but little progress was made toward efforts to denuclearize the DPRK. Since the collapse of their second summit in Hanoi in 2019, DPRK has abandoned diplomacy, focusing instead on advancing its weapons programs.

Speaking at a defense exhibition showcasing DPRK's advanced weaponry on Thursday, Kim refrained from mentioning Trump directly but referred to the last high-level talks held during his administration.

"We have already gone as far as we can go with the United States as negotiators," Kim stated, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "What we became certain of is not the willingness of a great power to coexist."

Instead, Kim said, Pyongyang came to understand Washington's "thorough stance of power and an unchanging, invasive, and hostile policy toward North Korea."

Images from the KCNA showed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), hypersonic missiles, multiple rocket launchers, and drones displayed at the event.

The exhibition highlighted "the latest products of the national defense scientific and technological group of the DPRK with the strategic and tactical weapons, which have been updated and developed once again," KCNA reported.

Kim also warned of unprecedented tensions on the Korean Peninsula, stating it faces a situation "that could lead to the most destructive nuclear war."

DPRK has recently strengthened military ties with Moscow, with US and South Korean officials alleging that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.

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A few months after Kim and Donald Trump’s historic first summit in Singapore in June 2018, the then-US president famously claimed at a rally that he and the DPRK leader had "fallen in love."

However, their second summit in 2019 broke down over disagreements on sanctions relief and what DPRK was willing to concede in exchange.

This past July, Trump remarked about Kim, "I think he misses me," adding, "It’s nice to get along with somebody that has a lot of nuclear weapons."

In a commentary released that same month, DPRK acknowledged Trump’s efforts to emphasize the "special personal relations" between the two leaders but noted that he "did not bring about any substantial positive change."

"Even if any administration takes office in the US, the political climate, which is confused by the infighting of the two parties, does not change and, accordingly, we do not care about this," the statement added.