On Thursday, Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, declared that if the U.S. abandons its hostile policies and acknowledges North Korea’s status as a nuclear power, there would be no reason for North Korea to maintain poor relations with the U.S.
The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on the conclusion of the 9th Workers’ Party Congress, providing detailed coverage of key points from Kim’s comprehensive report delivered on February 20 and 21.
In his report, Kim criticized the U.S. for its longstanding and deeply rooted hostile policies toward North Korea. He argued that these policies have continuously jeopardized the nation’s security environment since the founding of the republic. Kim further noted that the increasingly reckless military movements of adversarial countries, now involving nuclear elements, have pushed the situation into an unpredictable and perilous state.
However, Kim emphasized that if the U.S. respects the country’s current status as enshrined in the constitution and withdraws its hostile policies toward them, it would have no reason not to maintain good relations with the U.S. He added that the future of U.S.-North Korea relations depends entirely on the attitude of the U.S.
In stark contrast, Kim maintained a hardline stance toward South Korea, stating that it will permanently exclude them from the category of the compatriots.
Kim asserted that it will perpetuate the current state of complete severance from South Korea and will not revive any distorted past under any circumstances. He explained that the only way for South Korea to escape its geographical ties with North Korea is to abandon everything related to them and refrain from provoking them.
He further remarked that the current South Korean government’s outwardly conciliatory attitude is merely a clumsy deception and a poor performance, clearly indicating that he would not accept the Lee Jae Myung administration’s policy of engagement with North Korea.