Donald Trump’s nominee for Pentagon chief called North Korea a “nuclear state” on Tuesday, appearing to signal a shift from long-standing U.S. policy of “never” accepting the DPRK’s nuclear status.

But an expert warned that Peter Hegseth’s statement may simply reflect his ignorance of peninsula issues, rather than the incoming Trump administration’s plans to take a new approach toward Pyongyang.

Hegseth made the comments in answers submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

“The DPRK’s status as a nuclear power, its intense focus on increasing the range of missiles capable of delivering nuclear