Unification Minister Hyun In-taek says North Korea should admit responsibility for the March sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” naval corvette.

Hyun said in a speech Wednesday in Seoul that North Korea can improve the status of inter-Korean relations by doing so.

The minister said Seoul will not acquiesce to demands by some South Koreans to change its policies on North Korea in regards to the situation surrounding the naval incident. He said that although some are recommending changes be made to the policies, North Korea refuses to take accountability and has also been sluggish on humanitarian issues.

On the long-stalled six-party talks, Hyun noted that no denuclearization measures by North Korea have been detected. He also stressed that the main goal remains the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program, not the resumption of the multilateral talks.