North Korea’s Kim says he is open to talks if US drops denuclearisation demand

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un said there was no reason to avoid talks with the U.S. if Washington stopped insisting his country give up nuclear weapons, but he would never abandon the nuclear arsenal to end sanctions, state media reported on Monday.

“Personally, I still have fond memories of U.S. President (Donald) Trump,” KCNA reported the North Korean leader saying in a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday. The two leaders met three times during Trump’s first presidency.

Kim’s comments come as the new liberal government in Seoul urges Trump to take the lead in reopening dialogue with Kim, six years after all peace talks with Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions and nuclear dismantlement.

“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” Kim was quoted as saying.

“The world already knows well what the United States does after forcing other countries to give up their nuclear weapons and disarm,” Kim said. “We will never lay down our nuclear weapons … There will be no negotiations, now or ever, about trading anything with hostile countries in exchange for lifting sanctions.”