Kang said there's a clear shift in the North's attitude away from its stated goal of becoming a nuclear power, which has raised the need for Kim to manage domestic messages.

She reassured the international community that her government will link improvements in inter-Korean ties with denuclearization.

"We remain firm that the (UN) Security Council sanctions placed upon North Korea for its nuclear and missiles provocations will remain in place and will be faithfully implemented until we are assured of its complete denuclearization," she said.

From Day 1 in office, she pointed out, President Moon Jae-in has sought to denuclearize the peninsula completely, replace the Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty and create conditions for the two Koreas to co-prosper.

The minister emphasized that what the South wants is peace and co-prosperity, not a regime collapse or sudden reunification.

She expressed hope that the North will take additional concrete measures toward denuclearization in accordance with the April 27 inter-Korean summit and the June 12 North-US summit talks in Singapore.

On the North's demolition of its nuclear-testing site in Punggye-ri, she said, "We will press them, at some point, to verify that this is a genuine closure."

Reporters and television crews from South Korea, the US, China, Russia and Britain were also invited to witness the destruction of the underground facilities in late May.

But the North did not invite international experts to observe it. (Yonhap)