South Korea's nuclear envoy, who's currently in Washington, has revealed North Korea has recently shifted the emphasis of its negotiations with the U.S. from sanctions relief to security guarantees.
The North has described it as a "new calculation method."
President Trump seems to like the new approach,... saying the new strategy could help expedite the resumption of talks.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Washington on Thursday, local time,... South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon said there's been a shift in what North Korea may demand during their upcoming talks with the United States.
While sanctions relief was once the core focus of Pyeongyang's demands,... it has shifted that priority to a security guarantee from the U.S.
However, Lee said Washington will have to find out exactly what North Korea's demands for a "new calculation method" is when the two sides resume their working-level talks.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday,... President Trump suggested that a "new method" of focusing more on a security guarantee could help break the impasse in the denuclearization negotiations.
The remarks came as he criticized his former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, for advocating the 'Libyan model' in talks with the North.
The Libya model calls for North Korea to unilaterally dismantle its nuclear weapons program before receiving any concessions,... which Pyeongyang viewed as a threat to topple the regime.
Denuclearization talks are expected to resume later this month,... although nothing has been scheduled yet.
Pyeongyang earlier demanded the U.S. come up with a "new calculation method" and renewed calls for security guarantees and sanctions relief.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.