Option 1 - AKP

S pozdravem,
*Filip Skokan*


On Thu, 13 Nov 2025 at 08:51, tirumal reddy <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi WG members,
>
> Following the presentation at IETF 124 in Montreal (slides
> <https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/124/materials/slides-124-jose-pq-kems-for-cose-and-jose-00>),
> we would like to seek the WG input on the choice of key type for
> representing PQC KEM keys in COSE and JOSE for
> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-jose-pqc-kem/.
>
> Listing the three options below:
>
>    1.
>
>    *AKP (Asymmetric Key Pair)*
>    -
>
>       Defined in *ietf-cose-dilithium*. Requires the “alg” parameter and
>       enforces strict one-algorithm usage, in line with NIST SP 800-57 
> guidance.
>       -
>
>       This becomes restrictive since a key cannot be reused across direct
>       key agreement and KEM with key wrapping modes. For PQ/T HPKE, it leads 
> to
>       multiple keys per AEAD.
>       2.
>
>    *OKP (Octet Key Pair)*
>    -
>
>       Defined in RFC 8037 and allows reuse of the same key in both modes.
>       However, the use of “crv” for PQC KEMs is semantically confusing, as the
>       construct is tied to elliptic-curve terminology.
>       3.
>
>    *New “KEM” Key Type*
>    -
>
>       Proposed in PR #20
>       <https://github.com/tireddy2/PQC_JOSE_COSE/pull/20>.
>       -
>
>       Purpose-built for PQC KEMs with the structure:
>
>       "kty": "KEM""kem_param": <PQC KEM algorithm>"pub": <public key>"priv": 
> <private key, optional>"alg": <optional JOSE algorithm>
>
>       -
>
>       This approach avoids the semantic overload of OKP and the
>       restrictive coupling of AKP, while maintaining flexibility by making 
> "alg"
>       optional and clear PQC alignment.
>
> We invite the WG to review the above options and share opinions on which
> direction to pursue. Reaching consensus on this will allow us to finalize
> the key representation and progress the draft.
>
> -Tiru
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