The North Korean leader has set Washington a strict deadline “until the end of this year” to revive its diminishing relationship after the two superpowers failed to agree a deal in their second meeting in Hanoi. Mr Trump and Chairman Kim were unable to reach an agreement to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs. Following the stand-off the North Korean leader blamed the US president and insisted he was “not really ready to sit with us face-to-face and solve the problem”.
The North Korean dictator also issued a stern warning and indicated his country would not be bullied by the US and stated its position would remain unchanged even if the nations met “a hundred thousand times”.
Chairman Kim also said US leaders “mistakenly believe that if they pressure us to the maximum they can subdue us” he added the increase in sanctions and pressure is “like trying to put out a fire with oil”.
During a rare speech to the Supreme People’s Assembly, he said: “By that sort of thinking, the US will not be able to move us one iota even if they sat with us a hundred thousand times, and will not be able to get what it wants at all.
“I will be patient and wait until the end of this year for America’s courageous decision, but it will be hard to get as good a chance as last time.”
The relationship between the two nuclear superpowers were further strained after Chairman Kim questioned the true intentions of the US.
He said the Hanoi summit “raised strong questions about whether the steps we took under our strategic decision were right, and gave us a sense of caution about whether the US is even really trying to improve the DPRK-U.S. relationship.”
Despite the heavy criticism aimed towards the US, Chairman Kim indicated he would not hesitate to sign an agreement if the US “stop its current way of calculation and come to us with a new calculation”.
Meanwhile ahead if his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday, Mr Trump was upbeat about a possible third nuclear summit with the North Korean leader.
In the Oval Office the US president said: “We will be discussing that and potential meetings, further meetings with North Korea and Kim Jong-un.”
He added: “I enjoy the summits, I enjoy being with the chairman.”
Chairman Kim is “a person I’ve gotten to know very well, and respect and hopefully, and I really believe over a period of time, a lot of tremendous things will happen. I think North Korea has a tremendous potential”.