‘Still have fond memories of Trump’: Kim Jong Un says open to talks with US if it drops denuclearisation demand | World News

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, provided Washington lets up on insing Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons.
He also firmly stated that his country will never trade away its nuclear arsenal in exchange for sanctions relief.
“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” Kim was quoted as saying in a recent speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly.
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“The world already knows full well what the United States does after it makes a country give up its nuclear weapons and disarms,” he said. “We will never give up our nuclear weapons. There will never be, and will never ever be for eternity, any negotiations with enemies of exchanging some things out of some obsession with lifting sanctions.”
He said that sanctions have been a learning experience for his country that made North Korea stronger and more resilient.
‘Still have fond memories of Trump,’ says Kim
The North Korean leader further said that he has “fond memories” of US President Donald Trump.
“Personally, I still have fond memories of US President (Donald) Trump,” reported KCNA.Story continues below this ad
Both leaders met three times during Trump’s first presidency.
The remarks come as South Korea’s new liberal government is calling on the US president to reopen dialogue with Kim, six years after peace talks with the North collapsed over clashes on nuclear dismantlement and sanctions.
This also comes ahead of the UN General Assembly where South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is expected to address nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Pyongyang has faced numerous UN Security Council resolutions imposing economic sanctions and arms embargoes aimed at curbing its military development. Despite this, North Korea has continued to advance its nuclear weapons and ballic missile programs.
(With inputs from agencies)