The South Korean government has reiterated that it will not lift the current inter-Korean sanctions for the sake of holding talks with the North. 

A Unification Ministry official told reporters on Tuesday that it would be imprudent and contradict basic democratic order to accept North Korea’s preconditions or demands for the sake of restarting the talks.

While clarifying that the administration aims to establish normal cross-border relations, the official stressed the need to patiently abide by principles in dealing with the North. 
 
The official said the Park Geun-hye government is not considering secretively contacting North Korea citing its basic principle of keeping the inter-Korean communication open and transparent until the two Koreas build up trust.

In exchange for holding an inter-Korean government-level meeting, Pyongyang has been urging Seoul to lift the so called May 24 sanctions imposed after the North's torpedoing of the South Korean naval warship Cheonan in 2010.