North Korea Is Reportedly Rejecting Future Diplomacy With United States Under Donald Trump

Reuters reporter David Brunnstrom shared on Twitter that the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, is reporting a breakdown in diplomacy with the United States under President Donald Trump.

“North Korea says [it] sees no improvement in relations to be made by maintaining relationship between Kim and Trump.”

According to Brunnstrom, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is preparing to bolster its military force to ensure it can stand up to military threats from the United States.

“North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon said on KCNA U.S. policy proves Washington remains a long-term threat to the North Korean people and Pyongyang will build up more reliable forces to confront U.S. military threats.”

Brunnstrom noted that the comments came on the second anniversary of the 2018 Singapore summit between Trump and North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un. The event was historic as it marked the first time that a sitting American president met with a North Korean leader. As reported by Reuters, a second 2019 summit in Vietnam fell apart after North Korea refused to hand over its nuclear weapons, and the US refused to agree to sanctions relief.

Brunnstrom claims that Ri said the country perceives the Trump administration’s goal of the summits as “scoring political points” while continuing to push the country into isolation with threats of regime change and preemptive nuclear strikes.

“Never again will we provide the U.S. chief executive with another package to be used for achievements without receiving any returns. ‘Nothing is more hypocritical than an empty promise.'”

According to Brunnstrom, Ri claimed that Pyongyang still seeks cooperation with the outside world. However, Ri reportedly noted that the improvement of relations on the Korean peninsula has stagnated, and Ri accused the US of exacerbating the situation.

As reported by Reuters, on Thursday North Korea took aim at the US for inserting itself into Korean affairs and appeared to threaten electoral interference if Washington doesn’t stay out of such inter-Korean affairs. Although the US State Department has not publicly commented on the purported threat, on Thursday a spokesperson told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that America remains committed to open dialogue with North Korea.

Kim was recently rumored to be dead or in critical condition. Although a subsequent public appearance quashed many rumors, it also sparked new ones that suggested he was indeed deceased, and that the new arrival was a body double.