SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has urged the United States to ease sanctions on North Korea in exchange for an agreement under which Pyongyang would freeze its nuclear weapons programs, The New York Times reported.
“I believe there is significant value in a trade-off between sanctions — which are not particularly effective anyway — and a stop to the development of additional nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology,” the newspaper quoted Lee as saying in an interview.
Lee also said that pursuing denuclearization under the current circumstances meant that nothing would be accomplished. Once a nuclear weapons freeze was secured, trust could be built through reciprocal incentives and concessions to eventually convince North Korea to reduce its nuclear arsenal, he said.
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