Seoul’s Unification Minister Lee In-young pledged on Monday to strive to rekindle dialogue and cooperation with Pyongyang. 

During a luncheon meeting with leaders of local civic groups and cultural organizations, Lee said his ministry will “make unwavering efforts” to resume dialogue and cooperation between the two Koreas, although inter-Korean relations remain in a difficult situation. 

During the meeting, some of the groups called on the ministry to suspend joint military exercises with the U.S. to resolve the current cross-border impasse and fully implement agreements from inter-Korean summits. 

Lee, however, reaffirmed the ministry’s position that joint drills should be held continuously and flexibly as they are linked to the transition of wartime operational control(OPCON) from the U.S. 

The participants of the meeting demanded the scrapping of the South Korea-U.S. working group, which is a forum to coordinate North Korea-related issues. The minister disagreed and added that matters must be distinguished between what needs to be discussed through the group and what does not.