The top U.S. nuclear envoy said that there should be "interim steps" towards the ultimate denuclearization of North Korea, which she said would not happen “overnight.” 

U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak made the remarks on Tuesday at a forum organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank in Washington D.C.

Pak said that it goes without saying that there would have to be interim steps toward ultimate denuclearization.

Asked whether interim steps would involve the North's nuclear weapons freeze in return for sanctions relief, Pak just said that it’s important to acknowledge that there are a lot of weapons to be dealt with given the scope of the North’s weapons activities. She referenced its solid-fuel ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic capabilities and unmanned underwater vehicles.

As for the possibility of interim steps failing to lead to the North’s ultimate denuclearization, Pak said that she does not want to prejudge that as a final step, adding she would continue to seek ways to engage with North Korea. 

Pak’s remarks on interim steps came after Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, made a similar statement on Monday. Rapp-Hooper said that Washington remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but would consider interim steps on that pathway to denuclearization, provided that these steps make the region and the world safer.