North Korea likely demanded that China not raise the issue of denuclearization during a summit as a condition for Kim Jong Un attending a large-scale military parade in Beijing last week, South Korea’s unification minister assessed on Monday.

Chung Dong-young made the comments during a National Assembly session in response to ROK lawmakers’ questions about the DPRK leader’s attendance at the Victory Day celebrations. 

“It is presumed that they likely made a strong demand not to raise the issue of denuclearization as a condition for attending,” he said.

Official Chinese policy has long supported the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,”