No Need To Sit Face-To-Face: North Korea Rules Out Talks With Trump, Fires Projectile Off East Coast

North Korea has ruled out the possibility of an immediate meeting with US President Donald Trump, while firing multiple missiles towards the East Sea on Wednesday , escalating tensions with Washington and Seoul. The developments come amid speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the US president's Asian engagements this month.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un and a senior ruling party official, said Pyongyang had no reason to meet Washington under its current policy towards North Korea. However, she indicated that dialogue could remain possible if the United States abandoned what Pyongyang describes as its hostile approach. Her remarks were reported by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim cited US-South Korea military exercises, Washington's demands for North Korea's denuclearisation and a US human trafficking report as examples of its hostile policy. Her comments also came after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accused North Korea of stealing more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Pyongyang rejected the allegation.

Hours after the remarks, North Korea launched multiple missiles from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province towards the East Sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Seoul's military said it was analysing the specifications of the projectiles in coordination with the United States. The launch follows another missile test on October 29, when North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles towards the same waters.

Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in meeting Kim, with whom he held three meetings during his first presidential term, including historic encounters in Singapore in 2018 and the Korean Demilitarised Zone in 2019. However, those engagements failed to produce an agreement on North Korea's nuclear programme.

Pyongyang continues to demand an end to Washington's hostile policy, while the United States maintains its position on denuclearisation. With both sides holding firm, the possibility of a fresh Trump-Kim meeting remains uncertain.