By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak's proposal to give economic and security incentives to North Korea in return for it dismantling its nuclear programs has drawn skepticism both at home and abroad.

Experts said Thursday that the new approach was an attempt to seek a greater say in multi-party negotiations handling the issue.

Little support for the proposal indicates the plan didn't go the way that Lee hoped, they added.

Opposition lawmakers downplayed President Lee's so-called ``grand bargain.''

Rep. Lee Kang-rae, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), saw little chance of the North accepting the proposal, saying it was based on an assumption that the Stalinist state could never accept.

``I think North Korea will never dismantle its nuclear program first,'' he said, calling the President's approach a ``grand error.''

The DP called on Lee to pay more attention to ways to make progress in inter-Korean relations, saying if it was not communicating with the North, the South would find it difficult to make its voice heard in multi-party negotiations.

Washington also showed a cautious stance to Lee's initiative.

In response to a question about the U.S. government's position on the grand bargain during a regular briefing, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly declined to comment on the approach, saying that it was President Lee's policy.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said at a briefing following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the U.S. and South Korea on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that there haven't been any discussions on the plan with South Korea so far, according to reports.

Earlier, Lee called on governments involved in the six-party talks to consider his proposal, saying the previous approach only rewarded the North's bad behavior.

``We must have a comprehensive and integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issue,'' he said in New York.

Baek Seung-joo, chief of the Center for Security and Strategy of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told The Korea Times that President Lee appeared to be seeking a larger role for South Korea in resolving the North's nuclear programs.

``Positive signs have been made in inter-Korean relations recently and both sides appeared to be set for dialogue. Because of the progress, Lee seemed to regain confidence and came to believe he needs to be consistent in dealing with the North,'' Baek said.

Meanwhile, another North Korea watcher said the ``grand bargain'' had little to do with South Korea seeking a greater role in multi-party negotiations, but was a move to side with the U.S. government's comprehensive package.

``I think the President's proposal is a more sophisticated version of his previous commitment of helping the North achieve per capita income of $3,000 if it gives up its nuclear ambitions,'' said Lim Soo-ho, a senior researcher at the Samsung Economic Research Institute.

``Washington and Pyongyang will discuss the comprehensive package, proposed by the United States earlier. Lee might have felt the need to update his North Korea vision to side with the United States in response to the changing environment,'' Lim said.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr