North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump, right, sit for a dinner at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. AFP-Yonhap

Returning U.S. President Donald Trump's reference to North Korea as a "nuclear power" might be aimed at paving the way for resuming talks between Washington and Pyongyang, experts said Tuesday.

During a press availability at the Oval Office on Monday (U.S. time), shortly after being sworn in for his second term, President Trump said outgoing President Joe Biden viewed North Korea as "a tremendous threat" when asked about the threats Biden had identified to him.

"He is a nuclear power. We got along. I think he will be happy to see I'm coming back," Trump said, in reference to North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un.

It is unusual for a U.S. president to refer to North Korea as a nuclear power, a term that could be interpreted as acknowledging North Korea's nuclear weapons program in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, under which only five nations — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — are recognized as nuclear-weapon states.

The U.S. had consistently pursued a complete denuclearization of North Korea.

Trump's remarks came after Pete Hegseth, his nominee for defense secretary, also described North Korea as a "nuclear state" posing a threat to global stability in his written responses to a Senate committee last week as part of his confirmation hearing.

In a separate confirmation hearing last week, then Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio also stressed that "there has to be an appetite for a very serious look at broader North Korean policies."

Trump's second presidency has sparked widespread speculation that he may seek to revive dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to reduce nuclear threats, after the two met three times in person during Trump's first term, though without concrete results.

Hong Hyun-ik, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, told Yonhap News Agency that Trump's latest remark serves as "laying the ground" for the resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks and is effectively part of Trump's "preparations for a meeting with Kim Jong-un."

Trump "is alluding to what Kim Jong-un could gain if he engages in dialogue," at a time when Kim has little reason to meet, now that he possesses nuclear weapons, Hong said.

North Korea's Leader Kim Jong-un U.S. President Donald Trump, left, look at each other before a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Panmunjom, Korea, June 30, 2019. AFP-Yonhap

Trump might eventually want North Korea to promise a halt to military provocations in exchange for the U.S. not interfering in its nuclear weapons development, although it cannot officially recognize North Korea's nuclear arsenal, Hong noted.

Nam Sung-wook, a professor of unification and diplomacy at Korea University, said Trump's remarks mark the end of three decades of denuclearization efforts for North Korea and signal the start of a new stage instead.

"A new road map leading to U.S.-North Korea talks on nuclear arms reduction has now been laid," he said.

They both agreed that South Korea needs increased communication with the new U.S. administration to ensure its stance is reflected, as Washington may now seek nuclear arms reduction with North Korea instead of denuclearization.

Nam, in particular, emphasized Seoul's potential need to defend itself against North Korea's nuclear threats over the mid- to long term if personal diplomacy between Trump and Kim resumes.

Any arms reduction deal between Trump and Kim, short of denuclearization, however small, could also give rise to calls in South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons program.

Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, warned that "There are enough possibilities (for the U.S.) to pressure North Korea again if Kim Jong-un does not reciprocate." (Yonhap)