PYONGYANG/WASHINGTON: North Korea has issued a pointed warning to former U.S. President Donald Trump, cautioning that any renewed push for denuclearisation in a potential second Trump administration would be viewed as a “mockery” and firmly rejected by Pyongyang.
In a statement aired by North Korean state media and cited by Fox News, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said that although the personal relationship between Trump and Kim remains “not bad,” the current geopolitical reality has changed. She emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal has significantly expanded since the two leaders last met.
“If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-US meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the US side,” she said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“It would be advisable to seek another way of contact,” she added.
Door Still Open for Dialogue — But Not on Denuclearisation
While Kim Yo Jong categorically ruled out another summit centered on denuclearisation, she left open the possibility of alternative forms of engagement with Washington. However, she dismissed any chances of talks with South Korea, signaling a continued hardline stance toward Seoul.
Trump-Kim History and Stalled Progress
During Trump’s first term, he and Kim Jong Un held three unprecedented summits:
- Singapore (2018) – First-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader
- Hanoi (2019) – Ended without agreement
- Korean DMZ (2019) – Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea
Despite the historic optics, the summits yielded no substantive breakthrough. North Korea retained its nuclear weapons, U.S. sanctions remained in place, and diplomatic momentum faded after 2019.
U.S. Response: Trump Still Open to Talks
The warning from Pyongyang came shortly after a Yonhap News Agency report quoted an unnamed White House official saying Trump is still open to engagement with Kim “to achieve a fully denuclearised North Korea.”
Last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump hopes to make “progress” in a possible second term based on the foundation of his earlier summits with Kim.
In a separate message on the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War, Trump reaffirmed the U.S.-South Korea alliance, saying:
“Although the evils of communism still persist in Asia, American and South Korean forces remain united in an ironclad alliance to this day.”
What’s Next?
Kim Yo Jong’s statement signals a firm strategic shift — Pyongyang no longer views denuclearisation as a negotiable topic. However, her mention of “another way of contact” leaves a narrow diplomatic window open, likely aimed at redefining the terms of U.S.-North Korea engagement moving forward.
With Trump eyeing a return to the White House and North Korea strengthening its nuclear capabilities, the global spotlight may once again turn to this uneasy and unpredictable relationship.
