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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a speech at the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on September 21. / Source: Yonhap News

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he could meet with U.S. President Donald Trump again if Washington abandons its “obsession with denuclearization,” while ruling out any possibility of Korean unification. His remarks come as Trump is scheduled to visit South Korea next month for the APEC summit in Gyeongju, fueling speculation about a possible U.S.–North Korea encounter.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on September 22, Kim told the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on September 21, “I still personally have good memories of President Trump,” adding, “If the United States discards its empty denuclearization obsession and seeks genuine peaceful coexistence with us, then we see no reason not to face each other again.”

Kim reiterated Pyongyang’s refusal to abandon nuclear weapons, warning, “The world already knows what the U.S. does after forcing others into disarmament. We will never lay down our nuclear arms.” He dismissed any negotiations that involve sanctions relief or quid-pro-quo arrangements, declaring such talks would “never happen, not now, not ever.”

Kim warned that North Korea’s “deterrence force” is already in effect: “If its primary mission is lost, the secondary mission will be activated. Should that happen, the military infrastructure of South Korea and its allies in the region will collapse instantly, which would mean annihilation. I do not want such a dangerous situation.”

On inter-Korean relations, Kim hardened his stance against unification, labeling South Korea a “crippled colony, thoroughly Americanized in every sector.” He said, “We have absolutely no intention of unification. Why should we pursue unification that requires the elimination of one side?”

He also criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s “three-stage denuclearization plan” as a “copy of failed predecessors’ disarmament agendas,” stressing that North Korea would codify in law the recognition of the North and South as two distinct, irreconcilable states. However, he hinted the constitutional amendment process to formalize this has not yet been completed.