The foreign ministry said that the “interim steps” towards North Korea’s denuclearization, mentioned by a U.S. official, are effectively the same as the Seoul government’s “bold initiative” for North Korea.  

Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk made the remarks on Tuesday in a regular press briefing, saying that the complete denuclearization of North Korea is a goal shared by South Korea and the United States. 

The spokesperson said that if the North Korean regime's willingness to completely abolish its nuclear program is confirmed, it would be natural that measures to implement its nuclear dismantlement would be taken in phases.  

Another foreign ministry official also told reporters that the government has publicly announced multiple times its intent to pursue nuclear negotiations with North Korea in phases. 

The ministry issued the position after Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, said on Monday that Washington remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but would consider interim steps on the pathway to denuclearization, provided that these steps make the region and the world safer.
 
The U.S. official said that Washington is "ready and willing" to engage in discussions with the North about threat reduction.