North Korea’s Kim vows to improve ties with outside world
LA TimesNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored the need to drastically improve his nation’s ties with the outside world as he addressed a major political conference for the third consecutive day. The congress comes as Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Trump has remained stalled for about two years because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. President-elect Joe Biden, who is to take office Jan. 20, has called Kim a “thug” and is unlikely to hold any direct meeting with him unless North Korea takes serious steps toward denuclearization. They also speculate North Korea initially thought South Korea would help it win sanctions relief but got upset after Kim returned home empty-handed from the 2019 summit with Trump.