North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un says he still has “fond memories” of President Donald Trump, and is open to negotiations with Washington under certain conditions.
“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” Kim said on Sunday. “Personally, I still have fond memories of US President Trump.”
The remarks came after the US, South Korea, and Japan wrapped up war games near the Korean Peninsula. The trilateral military drills included preparing for nuclear warfare. Pyongyang condemns the war games for “undermining regional stability and escalating military tension.”
Trump has suggested meeting with Kim, and also noted the two had developed a positive relationship during his first administration.
In July, Kim’s sister Kim Yo-jong said that North Korea was no longer interested in talks with South Korea and would only engage with the US. Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with the President earlier this month and appealed to the President to facilitate talks with Pyongyang.
Lee said that South Korea was willing to accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state in the short term. Lee’s proposal involves making a deal for Pyongyang to halt development of new nuclear warheads, while retaining the goal of denuclearization in the long term.
The South Korean leader argued that a new approach was needed as sanctions and isolating North Korea had proven ineffective. Lee estimates Pyongyang is adding 15 to 20 nuclear weapons to its arsenal every year.
