North Korea’s Kim: US offer of talks a ploy to conceal hostility

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday argued that the U.S. has used talk of diplomacy and opening up dialogue on denuclearization as a way to maintain its “hostile policy” of sanctions over the reclusive country’s nuclear weapons program.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim offered the criticism in a speech to the country’s parliament while expressing hope that his government would be able to restore cross-border hotlines with South Korea, which have remained unused for more than a year, according to The Associated Press. 

However, Kim also asserted that South Korea relies too heavily on the U.S. to handle its own affairs, arguing that its neighbor is “bent on begging external support and cooperation while clamoring for international cooperation in servitude to the U.S.” 

Kim went on to argue that the U.S. under President Biden is “touting ‘diplomatic engagement’ and ‘dialogue without preconditions’ but it is no more than a petty trick for deceiving the international community and hiding its hostile acts,” according to Reuters. 

“The U.S. remains utterly unchanged in posing military threats and pursuing hostile policy toward [North Korea] but employs more cunning ways and methods in doing so,” he added, the AP reported. 

The criticism comes as the Biden administration has repeatedly expressed a willingness to hold talks and open up dialogue with North Korea once it first takes more tangible steps to slow down its nuclear weapons program. 

Meanwhile, North Korea has said that diplomacy will be out of reach unless the U.S. first pulls back its continued sanctions over the country’s nuclear development, as well as the U.S. military’s regular drills with South Korean forces. 

North Korea conducted its latest weapons test this week using a new hypersonic missile that was initially thought by Japan to be a ballistic missile. 

South Korean defense ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan condemned the test Tuesday, saying, “We regret that the missile was fired at a time when it was very important to stabilize the situation of the Korean peninsula.” 

The missile test came the same day North Korea’s United Nations envoy, Kim Song, said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly that the U.S. needed to end its “hostile” policy of sanctions. 

The envoy said that once this is done, North Korea would “willingly at any time” relaunch talks on its nuclear program.