North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un said his country needs to prepare for both “dialogue and confrontation” with the United States, and “especially to get fully prepared for confrontation”.
This is the first time Mr Kim directly commented on President Joe Biden’s administration.
North Korea had earlier snubbed efforts by the new US government to establish diplomatic communication.
The US for long has been calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
But Pyongyang has repeatedly refused, and the United Nations Security Council has imposed strict economic sanctions on the East Asian state for its nuclear tests.
Mr Kim made his latest remarks at a meeting of senior leaders which started this week in the capital Pyongyang.
He said they needed “especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development”, as well as to guarantee a peaceful environment and North Korea’s security, according to state media outlet KCNA.
He also said North Korea would “sharply and promptly” react to any developments and “concentrate efforts on taking stable control of the situation on the Korean peninsula”.
His latest comments come days after he formally acknowledged that North Korea was facing concerns over food shortages. READ.