Kim Jong-un says he's ready to meet Trump in New Year's speech

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo:AP

"I am ready to sit down and discuss further with the US President at any time in the future and will make every effort to bring about results that the international community welcomes,"AFPNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's address on national television today.

The North Korean leader also warned that the country may consider changing its approach if the US maintains sanctions. "If the US fails to keep the promise it made to the world and persists in maintaining sanctions and pressure on the DPRK, we may have no choice but to consider a new way to protect our sovereignty and national interests," Kim Jong-un said.

The North Korean leader referred to his summit with US President Donald Trump in June in Singapore, when he said the two sides had productive discussions and exchanged constructive ideas.

Although the US and North Korea have signed a commitment to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the process has made little progress because the two sides still disagree on the definition of denuclearization.

In his New Year's speech, Kim Jong-un also suggested that the US and South Korea should stop joint military exercises, saying they were a "source of tension." The US currently maintains more than 28,000 troops in South Korea.

In early December 2018, Trump said he could meet Kim Jong-un in January or February 2019. Three locations are being considered for a second summit between the two leaders.