North Korea-US relations: "North Korea must be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the United States"

 North Korea-US relations: "North Korea must be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the United States"

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country must be prepared for both "negotiations and confrontations" with the United States, and in particular "full readiness for confrontation."

North Korea had earlier rejected efforts by new US President Joe Biden's administration to establish diplomatic ties.

This is the first time that Kim Jong Un has directly commented on the Biden administration.

Kim Jong Un was holding talks with his country's senior leaders in the capital, Pyongyang.

Meetings of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of North Korea have begun this week, during which President Kim Jong Un has acknowledged that North Korea is facing food shortages.

According to North Korea's state news agency, leader Kim Jong Un said, "We must be especially prepared to defend the dignity of our state and protect our interests. Take the country on the path of development, maintain a peaceful environment and ensure the security of North Korea.

He added that North Korea would respond "immediately" to any aggression aimed at gaining control of the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions remain high over Kim Jong Un's relationship with the new US president.

Before the election, Joe Biden called Kim Jong Un a "thug" and just days before Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony, North Korea demonstrated its military prowess in a military parade in which he introduced a new missile. Had done

In April, Biden called North Korea a "serious threat" to global security, to which North Korea reacted sharply, saying the US president's statement made it clear that he was against the US. "We want to continue the policy of aggression."

The United States has recently reconsidered its policy against North Korea, saying it wants to completely rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.

Biden has vowed that his stance on North Korea will be based on diplomacy and "strict deterrence" measures.

Kim Jong Un has met with former US President Donald Trump on three occasions, but no progress has been made on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

Leif Eric Asley, an associate professor at the University of Iowa Women's University in Seoul, says the Biden administration has said the ball is now in North Korea's court, but Kim Jong-un's own government is showing great restraint.

"They are focusing on local issues and want to see more encouraging statements from the United States. North Korea is likely to return to the negotiating table only if it can improve the country's post-epidemic economic situation.