North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Thursday that the North should prepare for both dialogue and confrontation with the United States, Reuters reported, citing the North’s official KCNA news agency.
His remarks came on the third-day of a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's central committee on Thursday, after he had called for measures to tackle the "tense" food situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and typhoons last year.
Kim made a detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the administration of US President Joe Biden towards Pyongyang and urged the maintenance of "appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction" with the United States, KCNA said.
"The General Secretary stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development," the news agency added.
Such moves would "reliably guarantee the peaceful environment and the security of our state."
Kim also emphasized the need to "further enhance the strategic position and active role" of the North, while creating a "favorable external climate" on its own initiatives, KCNA said.
Former US President Donald Trump tried to reach an agreement with North Korea while in office. Kim and Trump met in Hanoi in 2019 for a summit that left nuclear talks at a standstill.
The pair had met three times since June 2018 but made little progress towards denuclearization.
The new Biden administration reached out to North Korea but the country did not respond to those overtures.
In Biden’s first policy speech to Congress, he said nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran posed threats that would be addressed through “diplomacy and stern deterrence”.
Responding to that speech, North Korea dismissed the idea of talks with Washington, saying Biden’s speech was “intolerable” and “a big blunder."