North Korean Leader Says Prepare For 'Dialogue And Confrontation' With US

The North Korean leader said on Friday his country should prepare for "dialogue and confrontation" with the US administration led by President Joe Biden, according to state-run media.

Addressing the 8th meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Jong Un for the first time showed his readiness to talks with the Biden administration.

"The General Secretary stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for a confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development and to reliably guarantee the peaceful environment and the security of our state," the Korean Central News Agency said.

Last month, Biden picked Ambassador Sung Y. Kim as a special envoy for North Korea, and said the US and South Korea are willing to engage diplomatically with North Korea.

"Our two nations also share a willingness to engage diplomatically with the DPRK to take pragmatic steps that will reduce tensions, as we move toward our ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Biden told reporters during a press briefing with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, at the White House.

In March, North Korea had turned down an offer by the US for talks, saying dialogue would be possible only if both sides come to "equal footing."

In a statement, North Korea's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui said Washington had been trying to make contact through several channels since mid-February.

Former US President Donald Trump held three successive rounds of talks with North Korea, but was ultimately unable to come to an agreement on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid -