Despite repeated overtures from President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chose not to respond, instead focusing on domestic affairs on the day Trump departed South Korea. Analysts on October 31 suggested this move indirectly conveyed North Korea’s lack of urgency for a meeting with the U.S.
The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim inspected a nearly completed hospital in Kangdong County. The paper specified that the inspection took place on the previous day, October 30.
Kim’s hospital visit coincided with Trump’s departure from the Korean Peninsula. Trump had arrived on October 29 to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, where he participated in U.S.-South Korea and U.S.-China summits before leaving the following day.
The Kangdong County hospital is part of Kim’s major economic initiative, the Regional Development 20 X 10 project, launched last year. This program aims to expand and modernize economic and public infrastructure by constructing factories and hospitals in provinces outside Pyongyang. Since February, North Korea has been piloting the construction of local hospitals in three areas, including Ryonggang County and Kusong City, with plans to build 20 hospitals annually in various cities and counties starting next year.
The newspaper noted that the Kangdong County hospital reached the completion stage about eight months after breaking ground, showcasing its exterior and internal facilities, including an underground parking lot, inpatient rooms, operating theaters, and doctors’ offices. It emphasized Kim’s personal oversight in addressing healthcare infrastructure and personnel shortages, highlighting his commitment to improving living standards.
By inspecting the hospital project on the day of Trump’s departure, Kim appears to have underscored his lack of interest in a U.S. meeting coinciding with Trump’s visit.
North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on October 22and conducted a cruise missile test just a day before Trump’s visit, demonstrating a trend of distancing itself from dialogue. Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, responsible for U.S. diplomacy, also traveled to Russia on October 26 and returned on October 30 after visiting Belarus.
Currently, Kim seems focused on internal events scheduled for year-end and early next year. North Korea plans to hold a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party in December to review the year’s achievements and will convene its 9th Party Congress early next year, the first in five years, to establish a national plan for the next five years starting in 2026.
Leading up to these two events, North Korea is likely to concentrate on maximizing internal achievements. This approach aims to showcase Kim’s accomplishments and reinforce the legitimacy of past policies while preparing for new ones.
Notably, the 9th Party Congress may see North Korea establish a new diplomatic direction. It is expected that North Korea’s intentions regarding U.S. dialogue will become clearer at this time.
Meanwhile, the newspaper reported on Choe’s speech at the 3rd Eurasian Security International Conference in Minsk, Belarus. Choe reiterated that the U.S.-South Korea-Japan military alliance threatens regional security and blamed the current situation on the U.S. and its allies, reaffirming that North Korea’s external stance remains unchanged.
Choe stated that in the eastern Eurasian region, the trilateral military alliance led by the U.S. has entered full operation, severely threatening the security environment. She added that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not waver in its path to strengthen self-defense capabilities to safeguard the nation’s existence, development rights, and security interests, while also protecting peace in the region and the world.
The newspaper’s delayed disclosure of the speech’s content suggests it was timed with Trump’s visit. By linking Kim’s public activities focused on domestic issues with Choe’s remarks, North Korea seems to highlight its current stance while avoiding direct confrontation with Trump.
As Trump left South Korea, he remarked that Kim will be back to meet with him, but the timing and possibility of a meeting between the two leaders will likely become clearer only after North Korea establishes its new diplomatic direction next year.
