(2nd LD) Kim says has 'good memory' of Trump, open to talks with U.S. if denuclearization demand dropped

김수연 / 2025-09-22 09:37:15

(2nd LD) NK leader-parliamentary meeting

▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 22, 2025, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech at a key parliamentary meeting held the previous two days. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 22, 2025, shows the North holding a plenary session of the Supreme People's Assembly the previous two days in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) NK leader-parliamentary meeting

(2nd LD) Kim says has 'good memory' of Trump, open to talks with U.S. if denuclearization demand dropped

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; AMENDS headline; ADDS photos)

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he has a "good memory" of U.S. President Donald Trump and Pyongyang is open to talks with the United States if Washington drops its demand for the North's denuclearization.

Kim made the remarks during his speech at a key parliamentary meeting held Saturday and Sunday, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday, after Trump expressed hope to meet with the North's leader this year during his summit with President Lee Jae Myung last month.

The North's leader made it clear that his country will never give up nuclear arms but said the North could sit down with the U.S. if Washington does not demand denuclearization as a condition for talks.

"If the U.S. drops its hollow obsession with denuclearization and wants to pursue peaceful coexistence with North Korea based on the recognition of reality, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the U.S.," Kim said.

"Personally, I still have a good memory of U.S. President Trump," he added.

It marked the first time that Kim has directly commented on his ties with Trump. His sister Kim Yo-jong said in July that personal ties between Kim and Trump are "not bad."

Kim's message came amid speculation that Trump may seek a surprise meeting with Kim, possibly at the truce village of Panmunjom, when he travels to South Korea to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump met with Kim three times during his first term, including their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 and another one in Hanoi in February 2019. Since the Hanoi summit ended without a deal, denuclearization talks over the North's nuclear programs have stalled.

At the latest parliamentary meeting, Kim stressed the North has no will to give up its nuclear weapons, saying they will not be a bargaining chip.

"I affirm that there will never, never be denuclearization for us," Kim said, highlighting that its "irreversible" status as a nuclear power has been enshrined in the constitution.

"There will never be such negotiations with the enemies as trading something while being obsessed with sanctions relief," Kim said.

Touching on South Korea, the North's leader said he will never sit down with the South for talks, reaffirming his country will never seek unification with South Korea.

"We will never unify with a country that entrusts its politics and defense to a foreign power," the North's leader said, calling inter-Korean unification "unnecessary."

In December 2023, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" and vowed not to seek reconciliation and unification with the South.

He also threatened to stage a nuclear attack against South Korea if the North isn't able to use its nuclear weapons as a war deterrent.

"Then, the military organization and the substructure of South Korea and its allies of surrounding areas will collapse in an instant. This means an annihilation," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

The North's leader rejected President Lee's three-stage denuclearization plan for North Korea, saying the idea was merely a "copy" of his predecessors' proposals.

Since taking office in June, Lee has offered a peace overture toward North Korea in a bid to mend frayed ties with the North. Lee earlier said he will pursue a three-stage denuclearization plan for the North, starting with a freeze on the North's nuclear and missile programs in the first stage.

Meanwhile, Kim cited key accomplishments in the defense sector for this year during his speech, including the construction of new naval destroyers.

"We've newly possessed secret weapons and achieved feats in the defense science field that will greatly help bolster our military capability," he said, without elaborating on what secret weapons are.

(END)