Lee-Trump summit may touch on 3-stage path to denuclearization

President Lee Jae Myung’s three-step blueprint for North Korea’s denuclearization, unveiled just days before his visit to Washington, has fueled speculation that the proposal could be raised in his upcoming talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Analysts said Lee’s approach suggested that South Korea was seeking to align with Trump’s apparent “small deal” strategy toward the North. But they cautioned that the Kim Jong-un regime, seen as increasingly belligerent, was unlikely to engage in dialogue with Seoul anytime soon.

In an interview with Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun published Thursday, Lee said the first stage of his plan for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would be to freeze North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

“The policy aim is the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he said, responding to a question about concerns that potential U.S.-North Korea talks might involve recognition of Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons.

In the second and final stages, Lee said he would seek to reduce and ultimately dismantle the North’s nuclear program, according to a transcript of the interview provided by the presidential office.

The interview, Lee’s first with a media outlet since taking office on June 4, came ahead of his trip to Tokyo for summit talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this weekend. It marked the first time the president has outlined details of his denuclearization goal, which had previously remained vague.

During the interview, the president stressed that South Korea will maintain close cooperation with the U.S. in pursuing the denuclearization goal.

How Trump responds to Lee’s ambitious plan will be a key test, diplomatic observers said, noting that the three-step proposal was announced just days before Lee’s summit with Trump in Washington, slated for Monday (local time).

“While the president’s remarks appear to be a principled, general statement without details, it seems that they were made in line with Trump’s 'small deal' approach, and it is also possible that it was coordinated with the U.S. side in advance,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.

Following Trump’s overtures to reengage with Pyongyang, speculation has grown that the U.S. leader might pursue a so-called “small deal” with the North, such as a partial freeze or limited nuclear concessions, considering that earlier sweeping denuclearization efforts during his first term had ultimately collapsed.

But this approach has raised concerns in Seoul that the U.S. leader could effectively recognize North Korea as a nuclear state — a status Pyongyang has long sought — to bring the reclusive regime to the negotiating table.

With little chance of the North responding to the Lee government’s conciliatory gestures in the near term, analysts said the timing of the three-step blueprint’s disclosure by the president may have been premature.

“From North Korea’s perspective, the South Korean president — whom it regards as the leader of its top enemy — speaking publically about the freezing, reduction and dismantlement of its nuclear program through coordination with the U.S. would be highly provocative. Such remarks would likely anger the Kim regime,” Lim said.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said "South Korea and the U.S. have been in close consultation on North Korea policy, including ways to address its nuclear weapons program," in response to The Korea Times inquiry whether Lee’s three-step approach had been shared with Washington through diplomatic channels.

Pyongyang has already dismissed a flurry of Lee’s gestures aimed at thawing relations.

During his Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech, Lee pledged to respect the North Korean system and avoid pursuing unification by absorption, and made clear that Seoul would refrain from hostile acts.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, decried Lee’s outreach as an “appeasement offensive.”

“Lee Jae Myung is not the sort of man who will change the course of history,” Kim said in a statement released by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency Wednesday.

She also stressed that South Korea cannot be a diplomatic partner of North Korea.

“We should not forget the fact that anyone in the Republic of Korea is a top-class faithful dog of the United States,” Kim added, referring to South Korea by its official name.