North Korea's Kim vows more nuclear weapons but opens door for US talks

Kim Jong Un laid out plans for weapons development, vowing to build stronger ground-based and underwater intercontinental ballistic missiles, and urged US to drop its hostile policy against Pyongyang

By Soo-Hyang Choi

 

Kim Jong Un pledged to build more nuclear weapons and upgrade his missile programs but said it could also be possible to improve relations with the US if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear power. 

Speaking at the country’s first ruling party congress in five years, Kim laid out plans for weapons development, vowing to build stronger ground-based and underwater intercontinental ballistic missiles, while urging the US to drop what he called its hostile policy against Pyongyang to resume dialogue.

 

“We have plans to strengthen the national nuclear force year by year, and put all out efforts to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand their means of operation and domains of application,” Kim said at the Workers’ Party Congress as he wrapped up the seven-day meeting in Pyongyang. 

 

 

“If the United States respects our constitutionally enshrined status and withdraws its hostile policy, there would be no reason for us not to pursue better relations,” he said, according to a report in the official Korean Central News Agency.

 

“The future of North Korea-US relations depends entirely on the attitude of the US,” Kim said.

 

He slammed the recent overtures from South Korea’s new left-leaning Lee Jae Myung administration, saying their “outwardly conciliatory posture is a clumsy and unconvincing deception.” North Korea “has no matters to discuss” with the South, Kim said, adding that he would “permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”

 

The gathering of 5,000 delegates and party officials has been closely watched for clues regarding Kim’s development priorities and policy direction for the next five years as nuclear talks remain stalled. President Donald Trump has said he’s willing to sit down for discussions with Kim again, but Pyongyang maintains that Washington must drop its denuclearization demand as a precondition before it will resume any dialogue.

 

Kim is convening this year’s party meeting against a starkly different backdrop compared to five years earlier, having emerged as a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin by supporting his war against Ukraine. In September, Kim stood shoulder to shoulder with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a military parade held in Beijing, transforming his image from that of an isolated pariah to a global player.  The Trump administration released its new National Defence Strategy last month that urges South Korea to assume the primary role in deterring North Korea, signaling a reduction in American military support to deter North Korea from aggression.