North Korean leader says he is ready to meet Trump

2024-06-09 07:40:20      点击：214

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a New Year's address while sitting in an armchair in an office, Tuesday. Photos of his predecessors, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, are also seen behind him. Yonhap

Kim Jong-un wants to continue peace talks

By Lee Min-hyung

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is ready to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at any time, in a prerecorded New Year's address aired by the state-controlled Korea Central Television, Tuesday.

While reiterating his willingness for complete denuclearization, he called for Washington not to misjudge the North's patience and take corresponding actions for rapid progress in their denuclearization dialogue.

"I am ready to sit face-to-face with U.S. President Donald Trump again at any time," said Kim, dressed in a suit in a room decorated with the portraits of his deceased grandfather and father. "I will do my utmost to generate an end state that the international society will definitely welcome."

The overall tone for his speech was not as provocative as that from the previous years reflecting the ongoing peace momentum on the peninsula.

But Kim also expressed discomfort over the U.S. attitude in the denuclearization talks and its adamancy about keeping sanctions on North Korea.

"If the U.S. continues stepping up sanctions and pressure against our country, we may have no choice but to seek a new way to protect our sovereignty and interests," Kim said.

In June last year, Trump and Kim held a historic summit in Singapore for the first time in history. At that time, they reached a broad consensus in making joint efforts to realize peace and denuclearization on the peninsula.

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Pyongyang has urged Washington to take reciprocal measures in return for the regime's phased denuclearization. They include a lifting of heavy economic sanctions imposed on the regime.

"We have declared an end to developing, experimenting and using any nuclear weapons and taken practical steps to realize the pledge," Kim said.

He underlined the need for Washington and Pyongyang to stop making unilateral statements and create mutual respect by offering fair suggestions under the common goal of building lasting peace.

Respect for Moon

Kim also spoke highly of a series of inter-Korean summits last year with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders met with each other three times to discuss peace and ease military tension on the peninsula.

"Starting last year, the two Koreas have taken bold steps under the bilateral resolution of opening a new era of peace and prosperity by seeing to end the abnormal state of the peninsula which is at risk of war," Kim said.

It is unprecedented for Seoul and Pyongyang to hold summits three times a year and this clearly shows inter-Korean relations have entered a new phase, according to the North Korean leader.

Under the inter-Korean reconciliatory mood, Kim plans to visit Seoul sometime early this year in return for Moon's recent Pyongyang visit for a three-day-long inter-Korean summit.

Aside from the diplomatic agenda, Kim also stressed the importance of revving up the regime's local economy.

"We need to improve economic efficiency and realign organizational structures in a way to encourage companies to engage actively in business," Kim said.

He went on to say the North should also increase investments in research and development of science and technology.

At a national level, Pyongyang needs to push for businesses related to science and technology, as they are a major source of the North's growth strategy, according to Kim.