North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that he would be willing to resume dialogue with the United States, provided that Washington abandons its demand for the complete denuclearization of Pyongyang. In remarks released by the state news agency KCNA, Kim emphasized that the development of nuclear weapons is a matter of survival for his country, viewing them as a guarantee against what he described as serious threats from the United States and South Korea. 

“If the United States abandons the absurd obsession of forcing our nuclear disarmament, accepts reality, and seeks genuine peaceful coexistence, there will be no reason not to sit at the table with them,” the North Korean leader declared, while also recalling with some nostalgia his meetings with former U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he held three summits during Trump’s first term.

Despite this apparent openness, Kim has repeatedly rejected recent offers of dialogue from Washington and Seoul, labeling them false and hypocritical, arguing that behind them lies the persistent intention to weaken the North and engineer regime change. One of the proposals that has drawn the strongest criticism from Pyongyang is South Korea’s plan for a gradual dismantling of the nuclear arsenal as part of a mutual trust-building process.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in office since June, has promoted a policy of engagement, publicly asserting that only through a step-by-step process can genuine progress be made toward denuclearization of the peninsula. In an interview with Reuters, Lee described this approach as the most realistic option and stressed that it is essential to create political and security conditions that would persuade the North to return to the negotiating table.

Within this complex scenario, the figure of Donald Trump continues to be mentioned as a potential influential factor, given his history of direct contact with Kim Jong Un and the possibility that he may attempt to play a mediating role if his political influence in the United States strengthens once again.