Advertisement

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un sends warning to US, extends olive branch to the South

  • The US said it has ‘no hostile intent’ towards North Korea and remains open to the idea of talks after Kim called the offer a ‘petty trick’
  • The North Korean leader, however, also said he was willing to restore communications hotlines with Seoul

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Kim Jong-un speaks during the second day of the North Korean parliament session at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang. Photo: YNA via DPA
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un condemned a US offer of dialogue as a “petty trick for deceiving the international community”, state media reported on Thursday, and accused the Joe Biden administration of continuing a hostile policy against his nuclear-armed country.
Advertisement
Talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been effectively at a standstill since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and then-president Donald Trump over sanctions relief and what North Korea would be willing to give up in return.

Under Biden, the United States has repeatedly offered to meet North Korean representatives anywhere, at any time, without preconditions, while saying it will pursue denuclearisation.

The new administration was pursuing “military threats” and a “hostile policy” unchanged from the past, “but employs more cunning ways and methods in doing so”, he said in a lengthy address to the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament.

North Korea has been largely biding its time in recent months as it assessed the Biden government and focused on domestic issues.
It has been behind a rigid self-imposed blockade since early last year to protect itself from the coronavirus pandemic, with the economy suffering as a result and trade with key partner China dwindling to a trickle.

02:10

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un offers to reconnect vital communication line with South Korea

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un offers to reconnect vital communication line with South Korea

But Kim’s speech was the latest in a series of actions with international ramifications this month.

Advertisement