Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon has suggested economic cooperation between the two Koreas will not be pursued fully until there is progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. 

During a meeting with the leadership of the minority Party for Democracy and Peace at the National Assembly on Friday, Cho said although the government is getting ready for inter-Korean economic cooperation, it will take time before such efforts become visible. 

He was specifically responding to a question by the party’s floor leader Chang Byoung-wan on the absence of  economy-related ministries on the presidential committee tasked with implementing the Panmunjeom Declaration. 

The minister reminded that there are existing international sanctions on the North and said countries, including the United States, are opposed to cooperating with the North on economy without progress on the regime’s denuclearization. 

Cho also rejected speculation that China may be excluded from multinational efforts to end the Korean War, saying it's up to China to take part in the process.