A day after top U.S. and South Korean officials shook hands over better enforcement of North Korea sanctions, the unification ministry in Seoul stressed on Friday that humanitarian aid to the country should remain unaffected.

Speaking at a press briefing, Cha Deok-cheol, the deputy spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, said that “sanctions are not in place to have a negative impact on the humanitarian situation of North Korean residents.”

Cha made the comment a day after Seoul’s foreign minister and defense minister released a joint statement with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State