Trump open to phased approach on North Korea nuclear issue, says South Korea's Lee

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to consider a proposal for a phased approach to denuclearizing North Korea. Speaking after a G7 summit, Lee explained that the plan prioritizes halting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development in the short term, while keeping complete denuclearization as a longer-term goal.

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Without giving up on denuclearisation, I explained that we should go step by step, short term, medium term and long term, rather than immediately.

Lee conveyed to Trump that the immediate objective should be to prevent North Korea from producing more nuclear material, transferring weapons, or advancing its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology. Trump reportedly responded that this phased strategy "could be one way" and that he would give it careful consideration.

The South Korean president emphasized that sanctions alone are insufficient, noting North Korea's existing nuclear arsenal and continued production capacity. He also pointed to increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which he believes has diminished the effectiveness of sanctions.

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it "could be one way" and that he would think carefully about it.

Beyond denuclearization talks, Lee mentioned that Trump inquired about South Korea's capacity to build U.S. warships, to which Lee affirmed its possibility. This comes as Seoul committed to $150 billion in shipbuilding investments in the U.S. Lee also shared that he asked Pope Francis to consider visiting the Korean Demilitarized Zone and potentially North Korea, with the pontiff expressing willingness to explore the idea.

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I said of course it was possible and that we would do our best.