DPRK open to talks if US drops denuclearization demand
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Kim Jong Un said the DPRK is open to renewed talks with the United States if Washington drops its demand for denuclearization, rejecting dialogue with South Korea.
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DPRK leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a parliament session at the Supreme People’s Assembly, which was held on September 20-21, 2025 in Pyongyang, DPRK. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the DPRK could reopen dialogue with the United States if Washington abandons its insistence on denuclearization. Speaking before the DPRK’s parliament, Kim recalled his “good memories” of US President Donald Trump, saying there was no reason not to meet again under the right conditions.
Kim’s remarks came just days after Trump announced he would travel to South Korea in late October for a regional summit. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times between 2018 and 2019, though those talks ended without an agreement.
While leaving the door open to renewed diplomacy with Washington, Kim ruled out any dialogue with South Korea. He rejected President Lee Jae Myung’s calls for talks, accusing Seoul of surrendering sovereignty by relying on its military alliance with the United States.
“We will never unify with a country that entrusts its politics and defense to a foreign power,” he said.
Read more: DPRK defies US, says nuclear state status 'permanently enshrined'
Collapse of past negotiations over denuclearization
The first round of Trump-Kim summits collapsed over differences on sanctions and nuclear disarmament. Kim offered to dismantle parts of the DPRK’s nuclear facilities in exchange for relief from the harshest sanctions, such as bans on coal and iron ore exports.
Trump, however, demanded a broader rollback of Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Since then, Kim has accelerated weapons development, insisting the DPRK’s nuclear arsenal is “irreversible” and not up for negotiation. “I affirm that there will never, never be denuclearization for us,” he declared on Sunday.
Kim Jong Un’s stronger position amid global tensions
Analysts note that Kim enters any future talks with more leverage than before. Growing US tensions with Beijing and Moscow have worked to his advantage, as both China and Russia have vetoed Washington’s attempts to impose new sanctions.
Kim has also strengthened ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, sending support to Russia in its war on Ukraine, and recently stood alongside Putin and Xi Jinping at a military parade in Beijing.
Read more: DPRK defies US, says nuclear state status 'permanently enshrined'
Despite strained inter-Korean relations, analysts say the personal rapport between Trump and Kim Jong Un could revive diplomacy. If talks resume, Kim is expected to push for sanctions relief in exchange for a freeze on weapons development, a deal that would effectively recognize the DPRK as a nuclear state.
For now, Kim insists that “time is on our side” in the confrontation with the United States, while ruling out any concessions on denuclearization.
