All the appeasement by President Lee hasn’t matter as Kim Jong-un continues to bash South Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un formally called South Korea the “most hostile state” and warned of merciless consequences if provoked, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.
South Korea “is officially designated as the most hostile nation,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying on the second and final day of the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
Kim said South Korea will pay the price for any provocation if Seoul provokes Pyongyang, according to the KCNA.
Kim also said his country’s status as a nuclear weapons state will never change, vowing to make efforts to fight “hostile forces” against Pyongyang.
An authoritarian cult of personality like what North Korea has must have a threat to justify its rule. No matter what President Lee does the Kim regime is going to label South Korea as an enemy. The best they can hope for is to be called a puppet regime of their other enemy the United States. Notice though that Kim has been real quiet about bashing Trump. He seems to understand better than many leaders in the West that if you don’t bash Trump he won’t bash you. Pretty simple.
N. Korea test-fires large-caliber multiple rocket launcher North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspects a test-firing of an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system to assess its effectiveness at an unspecified location on Jan. 27, 2026, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. South Korea’s military has said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from north of Pyongyang toward the East Sea. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the most public appearances in nine years in 2025, as he increased diplomatic engagement and on-site supervision of the implementation of a five-year national development plan, data showed Sunday.
Kim’s public appearances, as reported by North Korea’s state media, totaled 118 as of the end of November, according to data from the Korea Institute for National Unification.
Including additional public activities reported by state media between Dec. 1 and 27, the total number rose to 131.
This year’s total marks a slight increase from last year’s 127 and matches the previous high recorded in 2016.
N.K. leader attends dedication ceremony for hotels North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), alongside his daughter, Ju-ae, inspects a room during a ceremony marking the completion of a hotel in Samjiyon at the foot of Mount Paektu in northern North Korea on Dec. 20, 2025, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 23. Kim took part in the dedication of the Ikkal and Milyong hotels, two of the five new modern hotels in the mountainous city, which also include the Sobaeksu, Ponnamu and Chongbong hotels. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
NK leader inspects industrial complex with daughter North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his daughter, Ju-ae, walk hand-in-hand as they look around a shoe shop during his inspection of an industrial complex in Kangdong County on the outskirts of Pyongyang on Dec. 15, 2025, in this photo captured from the North’s official Korean Central Television the next day. (Yonhap)
N.K. leader welcomes troop return from RussiaT his photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 13, 2025, shows leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending a welcoming ceremony the previous day for North Korean military engineer troops who returned home after being deployed to Russia’s Kursk region to remove landmines amid the Russia-Ukraine war. (Yonhap)
N.K. troops return from Russia This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 13, 2025, shows leader Kim Jong-un honoring nine North Korean engineer troops, who were killed during their operations in Russia’s Kursk region, the previous day. (Yonhap)
NK leader inspects special operations unit North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C, in leather jacket) poses for a photo with soldiers of the 11th Corps of the Korean People’s Army during his visit to the unit on Nov. 1, 2025, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 2, 2025. (Yonhap)
With North Korea getting all their needs currently met by the Russians there really isn’t any urgency for the Kim regime to engage with the U.S. Additionaly Kim Jong-un has to consider what Putin would think if he sees him meeting with Trump when the war in Ukraine is still ongoing:
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is willing to extend his stay in South Korea in order to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Pyongyang has offered no response, maintaining its customary silence ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo on Monday, Trump said, “If he [Kim] wants to meet, I’d love to,” adding that he “could go over there” while in South Korea.
He emphasized that he and Kim had a “very good relationship” and that extending the trip would be “easy if needed.” It was the latest in a series of gestures that began before his departure for Asia last week.
I doubt this will happen, but it doesn’t hurt to speak respectfully of Kim to not give any reason for a provocation during the summit:
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming visit to South Korea next week if Kim would like to meet, in a renewed show of his willingness to resume diplomacy with the reclusive leader.
