Kim Jong Un says he is open to talks if the US drops its denuclearization demand

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has stated there is no reason to avoid talks with the US if Washington ceases its insistence on the country abandoning its nuclear weapons, but he affirmed that he would never relinquish them in exchange for an end to sanctions.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the North Korean leader, speaking at the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday, said, “Personally, I still have fond memories of US President (Donald) Trump.” The two leaders met three times during Trump’s first presidency.

Kim’s remarks come as the new government in Seoul has been pressuring Trump to restart dialogue with Kim.

“If the US abandons its absurd obsession with our denuclearization, accepts reality, and desires a genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down at the table with the US,” Kim said.

Rachel Minyoung Lee, a North Korea expert at the US-based Stimson Center, noted that this was the first time Kim had mentioned Trump by name since the US president took office in January.

“This is an opening,” said Lee. “Kim is extending an invitation to Trump to rethink US policy on denuclearization. The implication is that if the US drops the issue of denuclearization, he is ready to meet with Trump face-to-face.”

In an interview with Reuters, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that North Korea produces 15 to 20 nuclear bombs annually and that any agreement to freeze this production would be a useful step toward the complete elimination of the program.

“Based on that, we can continue with medium-term negotiations for the reduction of nuclear weapons, and in the long term, once mutual trust is re-established and the North Korean regime’s security concerns are diminished, we can move toward denuclearization,” he said.

However, Kim explicitly rejected the phased plan, stating that recent overtures for dialogue from Washington and Seoul are insincere because their fundamental intention to weaken North Korea and topple its regime remains unchanged, with Lee’s phased plan being proof of this.

“The world knows very well what the US does after forcing a country to abandon its nuclear weapons and disarm,” Kim said, adding, “We will never give up our nuclear weapons.”

Kim also described the sanctions as “a learning experience,” saying they have made his country stronger and more resilient.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions and a weapons embargo since its first nuclear test in 2006. While the sanctions have restricted funds allocated for military development, Pyongyang has continued to make progress in developing nuclear weapons and powerful ballistic missiles.