North Korea’s Kim slams US ‘state terror’ but spares Trump in third-term address

Mindful of the fate of Iran and Venezuela’s leaders, Kim Jong-un used his speech to cast nuclear weapons as a non-negotiable shield

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a policy speech during the second and final day of the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on Monday. Photo: KCNA/Yonhap/dpa

Published: 2:55pm, 24 Mar 2026Updated: 3:39pm, 24 Mar 2026

He accused the United States of “state terror”. He vowed North Korea would never surrender its nuclear weapons. And yet Kim Jong-un’s address to the Supreme People’s Assembly contained one notable omission: any direct attack on Donald Trump.

That absence was an attempt to leave the door to diplomacy ajar, analysts said, even as North Korea’s supreme leader slammed it shut on the notion that his nuclear-armed nation could be pressured, coerced or subdued like other US adversaries.

“The United States is currently committing acts of state terror and aggression all over the world,” Kim told the assembly on Monday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

“Whether our adversaries choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence, that is their choice and we are prepared to respond.”

Kim (centre) attends an event on Monday celebrating the work of the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang. Photo: KCNA/Reuters

The speech came as North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament confirmed Kim to a third consecutive term as head of state. But it was his rhetorical offensive, bristling with nuclear confidence, that drew the most attention from observers.

Much of Kim’s address appeared aimed at pre-empting any comparisons between North Korea and Venezuela or Iran, whose leaders were abducted and killed, respectively, in US-led operations this year.

North Korea’s Kim slams US ‘state terror’ but spares Trump in third-term address

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mindful of the fate of Iran and Venezuela’s leaders, Kim Jong-un used his speech to cast nuclear weapons as a non-negotiable shield

Mindful of the fate of Iran and Venezuela’s leaders, Kim Jong-un used his speech to cast nuclear weapons as a non-negotiable shield