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

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 ballistic missile programs.

By: Express Web Desk

September 22, 2025 01:40 PM IST

2 min read

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a parliament session at the Supreme People’s Assembly, which was held on Sept. 20-21, 2025 in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, provided Washington lets up on insisting Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons.

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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 coexistence, 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.

“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.

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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.

(With inputs from agencies)

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