February 26, 2026 | 01:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought the ninth congress of the ruling Workers' Party to a close on Wednesday with a military parade and an announcement that relations with the United States depend entirely on attitudes in Washington.
"If the U.S. withdraws its policy of confrontation with North Korea by respecting our country's current status ... there is no reason why we cannot get along well," Kim said, according to state news agency KCNA.
Kim met U.S. President Donald Trump on three occasions during the latter's first term in office, but has so far rejected overtures for a fourth meeting.
The key party congress set out major policy goals for the rogue, nuclear-armed Asian nation for the next five years and culminated in a military parade in which Pyongyang showed off the capabilities of its armed forces.
"We have a prospective to strengthen our national nuclear force, and will on projects to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand nuclear operational means and space for use," Kim said, according to KCNA.
South Korea: 'Most hostile enemy,' says Kim
He also ruled out any discussions with South Korea which he described as Pyongyang's "most hostile enemy."
Kim threatened to "initiate arbitrary action" if Seoul were to conduct what he called "obnoxious behavior," saying: "South Korea's complete collapse cannot be ruled out."
He dismissed recent signals of détente from the South as "deceptive" and said North Korea had "absolutely no business" dealing with the South, with whom it is technically still at war.
Kim said the North no longer considered the South as "compatriots," having "permanently excluded" them from that category.
Earlier, the Workers' Party congress re-elected Kim as general secretary.
Read: North Korea Unveils Nuclear-Capable Rocket Launchers
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