Kim Jong Un Says He Is Willing to Coexist with the US If His Nuclear Power Is Acknowledged
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hinted that his country is willing to befriend the United States. However, the condition is that the US and South Korea, which is a US “ally”, must remain their enemy.
Kim made the statement at the end of a historic party congress, urging Washington to respect Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power.
The statement comes amid growing speculation that US President Donald Trump may seek some kind of meeting with Kim on the sidelines of his visit to China in April.
“If Washington respects our country’s current status as enshrined in the Constitution… and withdraws its hostile policies… there is no reason why we cannot get along well with the United States,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), as reported by AFP on Thursday (26/2/2026).
However, he ruled out the possibility of building closer relations with South Korea, saying that he would “permanently exclude” Seoul as one of his nation’s “fellow citizens”.
“North Korea has absolutely no reason to deal with South Korea, the most hostile entity to us,” Kim said, calling Seoul’s recent peace efforts “deceptive”.
Pyongyang amended its constitution in 2024 to define South Korea as an “enemy state” for the first time.
A “grand” military parade marked the end of the Workers’ Party congress, an event held every five years that directs the country’s efforts in everything from foreign policy to war planning.
North Korea has used such parades in the past to showcase its latest weapons, offering a rare source of insight into the strength of its armed forces.
Trump’s efforts to approach Kim
US President Donald Trump has stepped up his efforts to approach Kim during his visit to Asia last year, saying he is “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Trump has even defied decades of US policy by acknowledging that North Korea is “sort of a nuclear power”.
A Trump-Kim meeting in April would mark a major breakthrough after years of stalled diplomacy following the collapse of their 2019 summit in Hanoi over the lifting of sanctions and what Pyongyang was willing to give up of its nuclear arsenal in return.
Kim has also appeared alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a major military parade in Beijing last year - a striking display of his influential friends and his high status in global politics.
Pyongyang has been particularly close to Moscow, sending thousands of troops to help Russia’s war against Ukraine.