North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump continue to have close relations and trust with Kim calling the relationship “special,” North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday night.
In a statement under the name of Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye Gwan, the news agency said that contrary to Trump, “Washington political circles and DPRK policy makers of the US administration are hostile to the DPRK for no reason.”
The statement added that North Korea will see “how wisely the US will pass the end of the year,” a reference to a deadline set by Kim for denuclearization talks with Washington.
Earlier this month, North Korea broke off working-level nuclear talks with Washington, with North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator blaming the move on what he portrayed as US inflexibility.
The meeting on the outskirts of Stockholm was the first formal working-level discussion between the US and North Korea since Trump and Kim met in June and agreed to restart negotiations that stalled after a failed summit in Vietnam in February.
Since the June meeting, North Korea has conducted nine tests of ballistic missiles, including this week when it tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
Trump has said he's "not happy" about North Korea's persistent testing of short-range missiles but denied the launches violate any agreement.
A report last month said Kim had invited Trump to visit Pyongyang, but the sides would not confirm that report.