U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, has suggested that Washington consider a new approach to North Korea.

Speaking before the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington Thursday, Lefkowitz called for taking a new approach to the six-way nuclear talks. The approach would link human rights to engagement policy, making rights a critical condition for any diplomatic normalization.

The hardliner on North Korea said Pyongyang will likely keep its current nuclear status when the next U.S. president takes over in January 2009.

Lefkowitz also said China and South Korea -- the two nations with the most leverage over the North -- have been unwilling to put much pressure on Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear ambitions.

The envoy’s remarks come after Pyongyang missed a December 31st deadline to disable its nuclear facilities and fully declare its nuclear programs in return for economic aid.