North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calls US biggest enemy, vows to develop more nuclear weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently called the United States the "biggest enemy" of his country. He also vowed to develop more nuclear weapons to combat hostility to his regime.

Kim said that the policies of the United States against North Korea will not change regardless of who is in the White House, adding that an end to its hostile stance will play a significant role in the future relations between the two countries. 

While referring to the summits with Trump, Kim Jong-un said that the US hostile policy has worsened despite the North's "efforts" and "maximum patience" to reduce tensions in the region.

He further said going forward North Korea's external political activities should be focused on suppressing and subduing the United States, "the basic obstacle, the biggest enemy against our revolutionary development." The North Korean leader said this while speaking at the eighth congress of the ruling Worker's Party. 

Significance

This was the first reference made by the North Korean leader on the transition of power in the United States following Joe Biden's victory in the US Presidential Elections in November 2020. The strong statement comes just days before Biden's inauguration as the next US President. 

President-elect Joe Biden had earlier said that he would not meet the North Korean leader without preconditions, vowing to pursue 'principled' diplomacy on North Korea and called Kim a 'thug' and 'dictator', denouncing Trump for giving legitimacy to Kim through summits.

Background

The North Korean leader has held three meetings with US President Donald Trump but denuclearization talks between US and North Korea have made little progress since the no-deal summit between the two leaders in Hanoi in 2019. Following the summit, North Korea carried out several short-range missiles and other weapons tests. 

North Korea reportedly displayed a new intercontinental ballistic missile on the ruling party's 75th anniversary in October 2020. 

The eighth congress of the ruling Worker's Party, which began on January 5, 2021, is the first in nearly five years. It was called in the backdrop of continuing calamity with back-to-back typhoons, a protracted border closure due to the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions on its economy.

During the congress, Kim Jong-un unveiled a new economic development plan for the next five years, which centers around self-reliance and self-sufficiency. The previous congress was convened for 4 days in 2016.