[Anchor]

Let's dive deeper into this issue with reporter Kim Ayeong.

Kim, the U.S. administration has reportedly stated that there is no change in its policy on North Korea's denuclearization, is that correct?

[Reporter]

Yes, let's first look back at what President Trump said on the 19th local time before discussing further.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (local time, 19th): (Is denuclearization still the goal you seek to achieve with Chairman Kim?) Well, I'd rather not talk about that.]

President Trump has recently specified the number of North Korea's nuclear weapons and intentionally avoided answering questions regarding the goal of denuclearization.

Because of this, some are raising concerns that the denuclearization agenda might be completely excluded from North Korea-U.S. talks.

In response to media inquiries asking whether there has been a change in U.S. policy regarding North Korea's denuclearization, a U.S. official stated that "there is no change in U.S. government policy."

Previously, the Foreign Ministers of South Korea and the United States held a phone call on the 24th.

Neither side mentioned denuclearization in the press releases issued by the two countries.

This differed from usual customs, drawing attention to the underlying intention.

The following day, during a regular briefing for domestic media, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stepped in to quell concerns, stating that denuclearization remains a consistent goal for South Korea and the U.S.

[Anchor]

The situation seems a bit different compared to before. Why are we saying that nothing has changed?

[Reporter]

North Korea has maintained a rigid stance, demanding that the denuclearization issue not even be brought up.

Right now, however, getting North Korea to come to the dialogue table is the main hurdle.

Therefore, to open the door for North Korea-U.S. dialogue, there does appear to be a deliberate inclination by South Korea and the U.S. to tone down references to denuclearization, which North Korea strongly opposes.

Thinking back to the first Trump administration,

CVID—meaning complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization—became a subject of contention between North Korea and the U.S.

Ultimately, as South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. agreed on the expression "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," that phrase continued to be used at the time.

This means that even deciding what phrasing to use for the North Korean nuclear and denuclearization issues will likely become a tug-of-war between North Korea and the U.S.

In short, the full-fledged game has not yet begun, and since the U.S. is currently trying to set up the framework for dialogue first, we are seeing a somewhat fluctuating situation unfold.