North Korea's Kim shuns South, eyes US ties

Thousands gather for rare party congress

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, centre, and other party officials leave the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, in a photo released yesterday.

(AFP)

Kim Jong-un said North Korea could "get along" with Washington if it accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status, state media said yesterday, but has dashed any hopes of mended ties with "deceptive" neighbour Seoul.

Washington and Seoul have mounted a renewed push for high-level talks with reclusive North Korea, eyeing a potential summit between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump in China later this year.

Having largely ignored these overtures for months, Mr Kim finally staked his position as thousands gathered in Pyongyang for a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party.

If Washington "respects our country's current [nuclear] status... and withdraws its hostile policy... there is no reason why we cannot get along well with the United States", Mr Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The United States has for decades led efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programme — but summits, sanctions and diplomatic pressure have had little impact.