Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump held talks three times during the latter's first term to dial down long-standing tensions between the two countries, before the talks collapsed in 2018.

Kim's speech “clarified the strategy for the toughest anti-US counteraction to be launched aggressively” by North Korea for its long-term national interests and security.

North Korea’s ruling party adopted “the strongest response strategy” toward the US, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing North Korea’s state-run KCNA.