North Korea rejects Trump’s overtures, shrugs off US election outcome: ‘we do not care’

In a swift response to Trump’s boasts about his rapport with Kim, North Korean state media made it clear that Pyongyang’s position remains unchanged, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.

“We do not care”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) declared on Wednesday, arguing that the “confused” partisan infighting and shifting political dynamics ensures that US policy towards Pyongyang will not change.

Trump said during his recent acceptance speech as the Republican nominee for the presidential election that he “got along very well with [Kim]”, signalling his apparent desire to re-engage with the North Korean leader.

“It’s nice to get along with somebody that has a lot of nuclear weapons or otherwise,” Trump said. “When we get back, I get along with him. He’d like to see me back too. I think he misses me.”

KCNA said in a commentary that Trump had a “lingering desire” for better North Korea-US relations.

“Even if any administration takes office in the US, the political climate, which is confused by the infighting of the two parties, does not change and, accordingly, we do not care about this,” it said.

While Trump spoke about his ties with Kim, he failed to improve bilateral relations when he was in office, KCNA said.

A failure to reach a bilateral agreement after their meeting in Hanoi has been cited by analysts as a key reason for North Korea stepping up its nuclear and missile programmes in recent years.

KCNA has appeared to signal North Korea was open to dialogue with the US given that it urged Washington to stop threatening Pyongyang by ceasing its joint military drills with the South, analysts say.

“North Korea won’t return to dialogue unless Washington departs from its hostile policy. This is a firm stance