A senior U.S. intelligence official projected that North Korea is unlikely to seek permanently improved relations with South Korea due to possible influence on the North. 

Sydney Seiler, the national intelligence officer for North Korea at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence(DNI), issued the assessment on Wednesday in a virtual forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Seiler said that North Korea does not seek sustained improved relations with South Korea because of cultural and political influence, and the price it would have to pay. 

He said that the cost of sustained engagement with the South is greater than it's worth for Pyongyang, adding that improvement for sustained inter-Korean relations will be difficult unless the nuclear issue is resolved. 

The intelligence official called on countries to focus on the longer term strategic goal of a denuclearized North Korea, rather than overly focusing on when the next launch or next talks will come. 

He also stressed the need for countries to establish an international consensus that North Korea will never gain acceptance as a nuclear weapons state.