South Korea’s unification minister continues to hold out hope for talks with North Korea and a possible breakthrough in the coming months, despite the ongoing ROK-U.S. military drills that Pyongyang suggested would eliminate chances for dialogue.

Speaking at a biennial conference hosted by the Korean Political Science Association on Wednesday, Lee In-young said that the second half of 2021 is a “very important” period to resume diplomacy with North Korea.

“We urge North Korea to come to the negotiating table at an early date with a flexible and proactive attitude to discuss denuclearization, sanctions relief, normalization of relations with the