North Korea charges 'imperialists' with 'cunning' call for peace

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- North Korea remains wary of the outside world even as U.S. President Donald Trump said in a recent interview he trusts Kim Jong Un will follow up on denuclearization.

Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun warned readers against even the "slightest fantasies of imperialism" on Monday, a reference to the West, including the United States, according to South Korean news service Seoul Pyongyang News.

In the article titled "The great achievement of carrying out socialism is a bitter struggle," the Rodong stated the "imperialists" are becoming "more evil" in their "anti-revolutionary" maneuvers.

"The imperialists are crooning for peace and taking a soft-line policy as a method of last resort, after their military invasion policies against our socialist state collapsed," the Rodong stated. "It is a cunning stratagem to realize through cultural and economic means goals that were not achieved through force."

The newspaper also said North Korea's enemies are implementing a "barbarous sanctions blockade."

"Their resistance and hostility surpasses the imagination," the Rodong stated, adding it is a "foolish notion" North Korea would change its socialist state as its economy improves.

During an interview on 60 Minutes that aired Sunday night, Trump said he would not ease sanctions, despite a "good relationship" with Kim.

"I'm not doing it. This isn't the Obama administration. I haven't eased the sanctions. I haven't done anything. We're meeting. I believe he likes me. I like him. We have a good relationship. It's very important," Trump said in the interview.

Trump also said his meeting with Kim is "so far, a great achievement," and that he trusts the North Korean leader.

"We were going to war with North Korea. Now, you don't hear that. You don't hear any talk of it. And he doesn't want to go to war, and we don't want to go to war, and he understands denuclearization and he's agreed to it. No missiles," the president told CBS.

Trump and Kim are expected to hold their second summit in November or December.