North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a session of the plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, Thursday, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

North Korean leader stresses 'both dialogue and confrontation' with US

By Kwon Mee-yoo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasized stable control of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Friday, and said the isolated state should be ready for "both dialogue and confrontation," in an apparent conciliatory gesture toward South Korea and the United States.

It is rare for the bellicose North to mention dialogue, and considering the remarks were made a day before U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim's visit to Seoul, attention is now on whether stalled denuclearization talks will get a makeover.

According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, during a ruling Workers' Party of Korea meeting Thursday, Kim said the country has "made a detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged U.S. administration toward North Korea and clarified appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction and the direction of activities to be maintained in relations with the U.S. in the days ahead."

This is the first time that Kim has commented on the U.S.'s North Korea policy after President Joe Biden took office in January. The Biden administration finished reviewing its policy toward the North and said it would pursue a "calibrated, practical approach" on the way to the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.