North Korea is prepared to normalize relations with the United States, but the initiative remains in Washington's hands, according to statements made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the leader emphasized the country's readiness for any diplomatic or military outcome.
“We will be fully prepared for confrontation with the US both now and in the future, and we will consistently maintain an extremely tough position as the unchanging basis of our policy toward Washington. However, if the US respects the status of our state as enshrined in the Constitution and abandons its hostile policy toward the DPRK, we would have no reason not to seek rapprochement,” Kim Jong Un stated. He further warned that if the US maintains its traditional confrontational approach, North Korea will continue to provide a symmetrical response, noting that Pxenyan possesses sufficient means and methods to do so.
The North Korean leader clarified that the future of bilateral relations depends entirely on the approach taken by US President Donald Trump and his administration. “We are ready for both peaceful coexistence and eternal confrontation, and the choice does not depend on us,” he added. Simultaneously, Kim Jong Un announced plans to strengthen and expand the country's nuclear forces in the coming years, aiming to increase the quantity of nuclear weapons and enhance their deployment capabilities annually.
The relationship between North Korea and the United States has been characterized by decades of tension, primarily centered on Pxenyan's nuclear weapons program and international sanctions. While high-level summits have occurred in the past to discuss denuclearization, a formal peace treaty has never been signed to end the 1950-1953 Korean War. These latest remarks underscore the ongoing geopolitical volatility in the Korean Peninsula as the international community monitors the strategic direction of US President Donald Trump regarding East Asian security and non-proliferation efforts.
