South Korea’s unification minister said Tuesday that he is willing to meet “anytime, anywhere” with his North Korean counterpart, pledging to pursue engagement to transform “strained inter-Korean relations.”

Kwon Young-se also stressed that the conservative Yoon administration will abide by past inter-Korean agreements “on dialogue and cooperation,” while monitoring further DPRK “provocations” ahead of a potential underground nuclear test.

“Our government maintains a consistent position that all pending issues between the two Koreas should be resolved through dialogue. As minister of unification, I am willing to talk to Ri Son Gwon, the head of [North Korea’s] current affairs department, anytime,