SEOUL (Dispatches) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country needs to prepare for “both dialogue and confrontation” with the United States under President Joe Biden, state media reported on Friday.
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 (KCNA) reported.
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 stated.
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. The countries encouraged the Asian country to come to the negotiating table and respect human rights conditions.
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 continued, adding, “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 noted.
The latest remarks from Kim also come after a North Korean commentator said in late May that the Joe Biden administration’s lifting of restrictions on South Korean missile development was an example of “hostile policy” toward the northern country.