ISTANBUL

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at a parliamentary meeting that there is no reason to avoid dialogue with the US if Washington stops insisting on denuclearization, the Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.

During a speech Sunday at the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim said he still has "fond memories" of US President Donald Trump from their three meetings between 2018 and 2019.

The North Korean leader also reiterated that nuclear weapons were an "indispensable choice" for the nation's survival, stressing there is no way to achieve denuclearization.

The world already knows full well what Washington does after a country gives up its nuclear weapons and disarms, Kim said.

"We will never give up our nuclear weapons," he added.

Kim also rejected the unification of the two Koreas, calling it unnecessary and unification through absorption, as well as South Korea's attempt to warm ties between the countries.

South Korea's presidential office, responding to Kim's speech, said Seoul is willing to support nuclear talks between North Korea and the US if they resume while reiterating its commitment to denuclearization, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"We will support North Korea-US dialogue," said a presidential official.

"The government will work to ease tensions and build trust (with the North) with a long-term perspective, in order to overcome hostility between the two Koreas and move toward peaceful relations," the official added.

The Lee Jae Myung government respects the North's system and does not seek unification by absorption, the official said.