Kim Jong Un: "No Reason Not to Meet If U.S. Abandons Denuclearization Obsession"

"No Intention to Pursue Unification with the South... It Is Unnecessary"

On September 21, North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un commented on the possibility of a North Korea-United States summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, stating, "If the United States abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization and, based on an acknowledgment of reality, genuinely wishes for peaceful coexistence with us, then there is no reason why we cannot stand face-to-face with the United States."

According to the Korean Central News Agency on September 22, Chairman Kim made these remarks during a speech at the 13th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang the previous day. He said, "Personally, I still have good memories of President Trump, the current U.S. president." These comments are interpreted as a clear indication that denuclearization will not be placed on the agenda for North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

Yonhap News Agency

Chairman Kim reiterated his lack of intention to pursue denuclearization. He stated, "The world already knows well what the United States does after forcing others to abandon their nuclear weapons and disarm. We will never lay down our nuclear arms," he said. "There will be no negotiations involving trading anything with hostile nations in exchange for lifting sanctions, and there never will be, not now nor ever in the future."

He continued, "If the United States and other Western hegemonic forces remain deluded, believing they can inflict a strategic defeat on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which still possesses nuclear weapons, and think they can pressure or break us through sanctions or displays of force, they are gravely mistaken."

Chairman Kim further stated, "Our war deterrence is currently in effect, and I hope that its primary mission will never be lost. If it is lost, the secondary mission of our deterrence will be activated," he warned. "If the secondary mission is activated, the military organizations and infrastructure of South Korea, neighboring regions, and their allied nations will collapse instantly, which would mean total destruction. I absolutely do not wish for such a dangerous development."

Chairman Kim particularly dismissed the possibility of dialogue with South Korea, repeatedly emphasizing the concept of 'two hostile states' despite the Lee Jaemyung administration's measures to ease tensions with the North. He stated, "We have no intention whatsoever of unifying with a country that entrusts its politics and defense to foreign powers. The Republic of Korea is a deformed, semi-paralyzed entity that has been Americanized in every field, a colonial vassal state, and a thoroughly alien country," adding, "Unification is absolutely unnecessary. Why should we pursue unification when one side must disappear for it to happen?"

Regarding the 'three-stage denuclearization proposal' put forward by the Lee Jaemyung administration, he said, "It is a copy-and-paste version taken from the homework assignments of predecessors who dreamed of our disarmament," and declared, "We will legally establish that North Korea and South Korea are two fundamentally different states, separated by a border, that can never become one."