SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that the enhanced security partnership between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan poses a significant threat to his country. He has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program, according to reports from state media on Sunday.
This statement follows previous warnings from Kim, suggesting that he is unlikely to accept U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to meet and revitalize diplomacy in the near future. In a speech delivered on Saturday, commemorating the 77th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, Kim criticized the U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral security alliance, likening its formation to a U.S. initiative to create a NATO-like military bloc in East Asia. He argues that this partnership is disturbing the military balance on the Korean Peninsula and poses a “grave challenge to the security environment of our state,” as reported by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim also outlined plans for rapid enhancements to North Korea’s deterrence capabilities, including its nuclear forces, reiterating the nation’s steadfast policy to further develop its nuclear arsenal. Amid stalled diplomatic efforts with the U.S. and South Korea in recent years, Kim has concentrated on expanding and modernizing North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile. In response, the United States and South Korea have intensified their bilateral military drills and expanded trilateral training exercises with Japan. North Korea has condemned these military activities, labeling them as rehearsals for invasion.
Trump, since his inauguration on January 20, has expressed a desire to engage with Kim once more, recalling the high-stakes summit between them during his first term. During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump stated, “We will have relations with North Korea, with Kim Jong Un. I got along with him very well, as you know. I think I stopped the war.” When asked if he would reach out to Kim again during a Fox News interview, Trump affirmed, “I will, yeah.”
Trump met with Kim three times in 2018-2019 in an effort to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear program, marking the first-ever summits between leaders of the U.S. and North Korea. However, these diplomatic efforts ultimately faltered when Trump rejected Kim’s proposal to dismantle his primary nuclear facility in exchange for broad sanctions relief.
Currently, North Korea has not directly addressed Trump’s recent overtures, continuing its weapons testing and hostile rhetoric towards the U.S. Experts suggest that Kim is preoccupied with dispatching troops to Russia to support its military efforts in Ukraine. They posit that Kim may eventually consider re-engaging in diplomacy with Trump if he feels his collaboration with Russia cannot be sustained post-war.
In his Saturday address, Kim reiterated North Korea’s unwavering support for Russia, stating that the nation “will invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army and people to defend their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.” He accused the U.S. of fueling the conflict in Ukraine.
In South Korea, there are growing concerns that Trump may forsake the international community’s long-standing objective of achieving complete denuclearization of North Korea for the sake of a diplomatic success. Nonetheless, a joint statement issued by Trump and Ishiba after their summit emphasized their “resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK,” which stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The statement also highlighted the importance of the trilateral partnership between Japan, the U.S., and South Korea in addressing the North Korean issue.
