The incoming head of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has stressed the need for a more realistic approach to addressing North Korea’s nuclear issue. 

Speaking to the Voice of America on Friday, Brad Sherman said rather than seeking North Korea’s denuclearization, it would be more realistic to freeze the North's missile-related programs and allow Pyongyang to possess a limited amount of nuclear weapons on the condition of being subject to close surveillance.

He said such approach would be safer for America. 

Asked on what direction Washington should take on North Korea policies, Sherman said he does not believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will abandon all nuclear weapons. 

He also said that he doesn’t see why the North should be provided with carrots when it’s making more nuclear weapons every day. 

Meanwhile, Sherman, who has been pursuing to reunite Korean-Americans with their long-lost kin in the North, said he plans to submit a related resolution urging for such reunion by early spring.