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Trump should not count on his personal relationship with Kim Jong-un to make anything change.
Trump should not count on his personal relationship with Kim Jong-un to make anything change.
What is happening?
North Korea has issued a firm message to the United States, stating that any hopes of future dialogue leading to denuclearisation are futile.
According to state media outlet KCNA, Pyongyang now considers itself a nuclear power and says Washington must accept this new reality.
Kim Yo Jong Sends a Candid Warning
In a statement released Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong — sister and close adviser to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — dismissed any prospect of dismantling the country’s nuclear arsenal through diplomatic talks.
The Kim-Trump Relationship: Still “Not Bad”
Despite the tough rhetoric, Kim Yo Jong acknowledged that the personal rapport between her brother and former U.S. President Donald Trump was “not bad.”
However, she cautioned against viewing that connection as a lever for change, calling such hopes a source of “mockery.”
No More Illusions of Denuclearisation
Kim emphasised that the strategic environment had changed since the historic summits between Trump and Kim Jong Un.
She said North Korea’s development as a nuclear weapons state was now irreversible, and that any attempts to undermine this reality would be flatly rejected.
A Direct Shot at U.S. Expectations
“If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past,” Kim warned, “then DPRK-U.S. meetings will remain merely a ‘hope’ for the U.S.”
The Trump-Kim Summit Era Revisited
Between 2018 and 2019, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump met three times in unprecedented talks.
The first summit in Singapore offered a symbolic agreement on denuclearisation, but follow-up meetings, including one in Hanoi, collapsed over sanctions relief disputes.
Pyongyang’s Nuclear Status: Non-Negotiable
Reinforcing the country’s position, Kim Yo Jong reiterated that North Korea’s identity as a nuclear-armed state is not up for discussion.
“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … will be thoroughly rejected,” she asserted.
White House Stays Committed to Talks
Despite the latest comments from Pyongyang, a White House official told Reuters that Trump’s objectives remain unchanged.
The President is reportedly still open to engaging with Kim to pursue the goal of a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.
Trump’s “Great Relationship” with Kim Still Cited
Throughout and after his presidency, Trump has often spoken about his “great relationship” with Kim Jong Un.
The administration had long maintained that this rapport could pave the way for future diplomacy — a view Pyongyang now seems to view as naïve.
A Bleak Outlook for U.S.-North Korea Diplomacy
As tensions resurface and rhetoric stiffens, prospects for renewed dialogue appear dim.
With North Korea firmly positioning itself as a nuclear state and rejecting prior frameworks, the window for meaningful negotiation may be closing — if it hasn’t already slammed shut.
