"I welcome ... President Trump's wise political determination to approach the North Korea-US relations in a more practical perspective," he said. "I expect the US side to come up with a proper calculation in the US-North Korea negotiations which will take place soon, and I want to be optimistic about their results."

He was referring to Trump's remark on Wednesday in which he criticized former National Security Adviser John Bolton for advocating the "Libyan model" in talks with the North.

The Libyan model calls for North Korea to unilaterally dismantle its nuclear weapons program before receiving any concessions in return and has incurred the wrath of Pyongyang, which views it as a threat to topple the regime. (Yonhap)