SEOUL—Kim Jong Un, offering closing remarks at a twice-a-decade party conclave, left the door open for talks with the U.S. while presenting an ultimatum: accept North Korea as a nuclear state or descend into permanent confrontation.
The remarks released Thursday represented Kim’s most direct messaging to President Trump since a speech last September. Then, he told his parliament that Washington’s aim for denuclearization was a “delusional obsession.”
The two leaders haven’t met since 2019, and the North Korean leader ignored an offer to reconnect when Trump visited South Korea last fall. The Kim regime hasn’t held formal nuclear talks with the U.S. in more than six years.
To Washington, the options to contend with Pyongyang’s nuclear-capable missiles—which have the range to strike anywhere on the U.S. mainland—extend beyond the two choices Kim laid out. But North Korea’s interest in exchanging its nuclear weapons for a relaxing of economic sanctions has significantly dimmed in recent years, given its expanding and prosperous relations with neighboring Russia and China.
Kim seeks U.S. recognition as a nuclear state because doing so would allow North Korea to justify keeping its weapons rather than being seen as a rogue state for possessing them. In his Wednesday speech, Kim said if his nation’s nuclear program were respected he saw “no reason” why U.S. relations would be strained, referring to a “peaceful coexistence.” Absent that, he added, would invite “eternal confrontation.”
“We are prepared for everything,” Kim said, “and that choice is not made by us.”
Kim’s calculated bet, shifting the onus onto the Trump administration, seeks to make Washington’s longstanding goal of denuclearization a relic of the past.
Pyongyang passed legislation outlining its nuclear-state status in 2022. Trump has repeatedly extolled his relationship with Kim. The 42-year-old dictator has also said he harbors “good memories” of Trump, while making clear the personal relationship won’t be enough to revive dialogue.
Kim, in his Wednesday speech, criticized the U.S. for its “hegemonic ambition” under its “America First policy.” In a sign of restraint, Kim didn’t mention Trump by name.
Trump has referred to North Korea as “sort of a nuclear power” and welcomed a meeting with Kim during his trip to Asia in October. Trump, during his first term, said he and Kim “fell in love” as they exchanged letters during a period of engagement in 2018 and 2019. The Trump administration in recent months has reiterated that the U.S. policy is to continue pursuing Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
Kim’s speech marked the end of a rare congress of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, its first since 2021. The event established the country’s five-year plans on foreign policy, the military and economy.
Pyongyang is no longer the isolated actor it was during Trump’s first term. In September, Kim stood alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a military parade in Beijing, in a show of unity and defiance against the West.
China has quietly retreated from openly discussing North Korea’s denuclearization, while Russian officials have said disarming Pyongyang is off the table. Beijing and Moscow have blocked additional sanctions on Pyongyang, while a deepening Russia-North Korea military cooperation has helped the Kim regime earn cash and weapons know-how.
A Wednesday night military parade featured more than 14,000 troops, though not the typical procession of large-scale weapons. Kim delivered a speech from a lectern overlooking Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, with his young daughter, Kim Ju Ae, whom South Korea’s spy agency believes is a potential successor, in attendance.
“Our armed forces are fully ready to cope with any circumstances,” Kim Jong Un said.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com