Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has pledged to prepare a step-by-step denuclearization strategy to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue and encourage the resumption of dialogue between the two Koreas, as well as between the North and the United States.

At a session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Monday, Cho said Seoul and Washington intend to reaffirm their policy coordination at a high level and establish an environment for dialogue on the North’s denuclearization before seeking its resumption.

The minister said in the process, Seoul will prepare a step-by-step denuclearization strategy starting with a nuclear freeze, followed by arms reduction and then abolition.

This will also include an enforcement plan, while South Korea will encourage China and Russia to play constructive roles.

He added that the inter-Korean and Pyongyang-Washington dialogue will take place simultaneously so that the North’s denuclearization and the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula can move forward side by side.

Emphasizing the administration’s pragmatic diplomacy approach, with a focus on national interests, Cho vowed to develop the Seoul-Washington alliance into a future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance encompassing security, economics and technology, ahead of a leaders’ summit on August 25.