Kim Jong Un says past talks with US only confirmed its hostility

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said past talks with the U.S. merely confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward Pyongyang, in comments delivered at an arms exhibition showing off the country’s latest missiles designed to hit the U.S. mainland.

“We have already gone as far as we could through negotiations with the U.S., and what we have confirmed at the end was not the willingness of a superpower to coexist but its uncompromising stance of strength and its unchangeable invasive and hostile North Korea policy,” Kim said in a speech according to a state media report released Friday.

Photos released by the Korean Central News Agency showed Kim speaking on podium, flanked by Pyongyang’s latest intercontinental ballistic missiles. North Korea’s most recent ICBM test in October set a fresh flight time record, just days before the U.S. presidential election.

Kim’s comments come amid speculation that Donald Trump’s election victory may lead to another change in tack in the U.S. on dealing with Pyongyang. The president-elect repeatedly touted a “very good” relationship with Kim while on the campaign trail.

Trump scaled back major joint drills with South Korea during his first term in office as he tried to negotiate directly with Kim. While Pyongyang briefly halted its missile testing, the talks ultimately broke down.

Under Kim’s leadership, North Korea has accelerated its development of missiles and nuclear weapons, ratcheted up aggressive rhetoric against South Korea and emerged as a critical ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

North Korea has so far sent more than 10,000 troops to fight alongside Putin’s army in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have occupied part of the border territory since a surprise incursion in August.

The growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have raised fears about North Korea’s ability to strengthen its military and sustain its regime with Russian backing.

“We will continue to take decisive action to eliminate all military threats to the country and people,” Kim said.

_____