SEOUL – The Republic of Korea's unification minister in charge of inter-Korean relations said on Thursday that Seoul has dropped its denuclearization-first approach toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to Yonhap news agency.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told local reporters that the government of President Lee Jae-myung shifted toward a peace-first policy while practically abandoning the previous government's denuclearization-first policy and the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID).

Chung made the remarks at a press conference marking his first anniversary in office, stressing that the government was fleshing out the peace-first strategy aimed at freezing the DPRK's nuclear program first.

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"The reason is that DPRK's efforts to augment its nuclear capabilities are ongoing at this very moment," Chung explained, emphasizing that the Asian country could no longer afford to ignore the issue.

Chung said that Seoul's priority was to restore the severed dialogue with Pyongyang, adding that the shift from the denuclearization-first approach toward a peace-first framework stemmed from its clear understanding that no talks could begin if denuclearization is set as a hurdle at the very entrance.