Overview
- After the Workers' Party congress, Kim Jong Un said North Korea could get along with the United States if Washington recognizes its constitutionally enshrined nuclear status and abandons a hostile policy.
- He declared South Koreans will forever no longer be treated as compatriots and labeled the South the most hostile enemy, reinforcing Pyongyang’s 2024 move to define Seoul as a hostile state.
- The congress ended with a large military parade, and Kim was unanimously reconfirmed as secretary-general of the ruling party.
- News reports highlight unconfirmed talk of a Kim–Trump meeting during Trump’s planned China visit in April, following Trump’s stated openness to talks and his remark that the North is in some sense a nuclear power.
- South Korea estimates the North produces enough nuclear material each year for up to 20 atomic weapons, with sanctions still in force and recent friction including the North’s claim it downed a Southern drone near Kaesong.