S. Korea's Lee Pushes for Big Shift on N. Korea

South Korea's president is openly pitching a deal that's been long shunned: trade sanctions relief in exchange for a freeze on North Korea's weapons programs. Lee Jae Myung tells the New York Times he sees "significant value" in relaxing measures that "are not particularly effective anyway," as long as Pyongyang halts further development of nuclear arms and long-range missiles. Lee warns that that insisting on full denuclearization "guarantees that nothing will be accomplished."

"To change the direction of a moving vehicle, it must be brought to a halt first," Lee tells the AP. "A phased approach of stopping, reduction, and dismantlement is a practical way of effectively resolving the North Korean nuclear issue." The geopolitical map has shifted, with Russia and China now drawing North Korea closer as it backs Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Lee says that US President Trump is uniquely positioned to lure Kim Jong Un back to talks and is racing to smooth trade frictions with Washington, including via a $350 billion investment pledge, in hopes of leveraging Trump's interest in Kim to restart stalled diplomacy. Reuters notes that "relations between the Koreas remain frozen, however."