Pyongyang: North Korea currently appears unwilling to engage with the United States or South Korea and is instead focusing on strengthening self-reliance and military deterrence, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said following a recent visit to Pyongyang.

According to Anadolu Agency, Balakrishnan noted that Pyongyang now categorically rejects the possibility of reunification with South Korea. He suggested that North Korea's stance has hardened over the years, potentially due to domestic political reasons.

Balakrishnan also observed that despite years of international isolation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pyongyang has undergone visible economic development. He described the North Korean capital as 'a clean, modern, well-organized, well-planned city,' with new housing estates and urban development projects indicating economic progress since his last visit eight years ago.

He remarked that the people of Pyongyang are 'busy getting on with their lives,' likening the city to 'any modern city throughout Southeast Asia, or even Northeast Asia.'

Singapore played a significant role in hosting the first summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018. However, despite subsequent meetings in Hanoi and the Korean Demilitarized Zone in 2019, negotiations over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs have largely stalled, and Trump has not met Kim during his second term.