Kim Jong Un’s proposition to Trump: Let’s talk—but not about nukes
The leader’s offer to sit down with the president challenges a long-held U.S. policy of pursuing North Korea’s denuclearization.
SEOUL—North Korea’s Kim Jong Un said he would sit down with President Trump, but with one major condition: he won’t discuss giving up the country’s nuclear weapons.
For months, Trump has repeatedly extolled what he says is the good relationship he enjoys with Kim and has expressed interest in a summit with him.
In his first direct response to such overtures, Kim expressed willingness to discuss “peaceful coexistence" with Trump. However, he described Washington’s policy of seeking the denuclearization of North Korea as “delusional obsession."
“I declare denuclearization will never, ever happen with us," said Kim, in a Korean-language report of his remarks carried by Pyongyang’s state media. The 41-year-old dictator made the remarks in a lengthy Sunday speech to his rubber-stamp parliament.
The U.S. didn’t have an immediate response to the comments from Kim, who for years hadn’t uttered Trump’s name in state-media remarks until the Sunday address.
Pyongyang formally declared itself a nuclear state three years ago. Since then, North Korea has sought to be recognized as a nuclear power on the global stage. Kim has become increasingly emboldened. He has deepened military ties with Russia.
The chance for a meeting between Trump and Kim could present itself in the coming weeks. Trump said he would attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in South Korea, where he plans to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The two leaders met at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in 2019.
North Korea isn’t an APEC member. But Trump, as he did in June 2019, could make a short journey to the Korean Demilitarized Zone for a face-to-face encounter with Kim. That third in-person exchange was the last time Trump and Kim have met.
Kim’s overture appears aimed at testing the waters with Trump. The conundrum for Washington will be whether a meeting is worthwhile for Trump without progress toward denuclearization, said Sydney Seiler, a former U.S. envoy for nuclear talks with North Korea.
“We can’t rule out Trump sitting down with Kim because he sees value in having a personal relationship," he said.
The duo’s first encounter—at the 2018 Singapore summit—broke decades of American foreign policy. Never before had a sitting U.S. president met a North Korean leader.
Engaging in talks with Pyongyang, absent the pursuit of denuclearization, would represent another disruption of longstanding Washington policy. But the Kim regime has made it clear in recent years that future U.S. discussions should start with the recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state. For years, the U.S. and its allies have pressured North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, wielding sanctions and other penalties on the country to pressure Pyongyang.
Kim recently attended a Chinese military parade, strolling out front with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who share the North Korean leader’s disdain for the U.S.-led world order. It is Moscow and Beijing’s political cover that shields Pyongyang from further international sanctions.
The Trump administration has said it would continue to pursue the “complete denuclearization" of the Kim regime, though it is unclear how Washington would achieve that aim. In May, Trump said North Korea was certainly a nuclear power.
Kim, in his Sunday speech, emphasized his warm ties with the U.S. leader. “Personally," Kim said, “I still have good memories of President Trump."
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
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