Unification Minister Ryu Kihl-jae says South Korea is willing to lift the sanctions it placed on Pyongyang for its 2010 sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, but only if the North makes concessions of its own.

Minister Ryu made the remarks at a parliamentary meeting on Friday answering a question on whether President Park Geun-hye's Dresden Vision can be realized with the sanctions still in place.

He added that some of the initiatives in the vision can be carried out right away but admitted massive infrastructure projects would be infeasible with the sanctions still in place.

As for the basic direction of inter-Korean unification, he said Seoul is not seeking an integration through absorption. 

He made it clear that the government is pushing for a peaceful unification through reconciliation, exchange and collaboration.