Kim Says North Korea Has No Plans to Wage War on U.S: Japanese Chef

TOKYO, JAPAN – APR. 27: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he has no intention of waging war against the United States during a private meeting this month, the Japanese sushi chef who worked for his late father said Wednesday. The chef, known by the alias Kenji Fujimoto, said he had dinner with Kim for about three hours on April 12 in Pyongyang and revealed some of his conversation with the North Korean leader at that time in an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo. "I absolutely have no intention of waging war against the United States. But it always makes an unreasonable demand. So I have no choice but to fire missiles," Fujimoto quoted Kim as saying during the meeting, which was organized on the day of the chef's arrival in the North Korean capital. The meeting was attended by about 20 people, including Choe Ryong Hae, a senior official of the Workers' Party and one of Kim's close aides, according to Fujimoto, who stayed in North Korea until Saturday. Fujimoto said Kim's younger sister Kim Yo Jong was also present during the meeting and the leader introduced her as vice director in the ruling party's Propaganda and Agitation Department. The revelations by Fujimoto, who served as a special chef for Kim Jong Il from 1989 to 2001 in North Korea, comes at a time of high tensions over its nuclear and missile development programs. Fujimoto said Kim indicated he does not mind the chef disclosing his remarks about the United States. Kim was not surprised when Fujimoto explained that Japan's perception of North Korea is extremely bad, according to the chef. Fujimoto said a North Korean took photos of the meeting but he was not allowed to bring them back to Japan, unlike the time of his visit in 2012, when he also had dinner with Kim.