A senior White House official says President Barack Obama fully supports South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's approach to North Korea.

During a news briefing with Korean and Japanese media ahead of Obama's Asia tour, the official reiterated the high level of cooperation between Seoul and Washington on the North Korean nuclear issue.

The official said that the negotiation method of compensating the North in small amounts and expecting progress was seriously flawed and that Washington agrees with Lee's grand bargain proposal of a sweeping denuclearization in return for a comprehensive compensation package.