North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the country’s government on Thursday it needed to be prepared for confrontation with the United States.
Kim “stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation” with the U.S. during a ruling party meeting, Korean Central News Agency reported, according to The Associated Press.
North Korea needs to “protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development and to reliably guarantee the peaceful environment and the security of our state,” Kim said, according to the state media outlet.
The comments come after the Group of Seven (G-7) countries — the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — pushed North Korea earlier this week to abandon its nuclear and missile program, AP noted. The countries encouraged the Asian country to come to the negotiating table and respect human rights conditions, according to the wire service.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in May there was no “grand bargain” to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
“I don’t think there’s going to be grand bargain where this gets resolved in one fell swoop,” Blinken said. “It’s got to be clearly calibrated diplomacy, clear steps from the North Koreans, and it moves forward in that way.”
“Previous administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, have tried to tackle it, and no one’s fully succeeded to say the least. In fact, the program has gotten more advanced and more dangerous over time,” he added.
The latest remarks from Kim also come after a North Korean commentator said in late May that the Biden administration’s lifting of restrictions on South Korean missile development was an example of “hostile policy” toward the northern country.
“The termination step is a stark reminder of the U.S. hostile policy toward (North Korea) and its shameful double-dealing” Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs critic, said at the time. “It is engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to dialogue.”
Former President Trump famously held meetings with Kim to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons production, but the talks fell apart after the former president rejected Kim’s request for sanctions relief, according to AP.