Unification minister says N.K.'s vicious cycle of provocations, rewards 'no longer works' under Yoon administration

BERLIN -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has warned that North Korea's vicious cycle of receiving assistance and breaking off agreements will "no longer work" under the current administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kim made the remarks at a conference hosted by the Berlin chapter of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Sunday, stressing that North Korea's nuclear threat has persisted for 30 years.

"Whenever North Korea has threatened with various provocations, dialogue has occurred, and after countries have engaged in this dialogue and provided assistance to the North, the country ends up breaking off the agreement and turning its back," he said.

"Such wrong behavior will no longer work," he added, emphasizing that the Yoon administration has made it clear it will respond to North Korea's provocations based on principle.

Kim is currently on a seven-day trip to Britain and Germany. On Tuesday, he is set to visit Hamburg to attend a ceremony marking the reunification of Germany in 1990 and meet government officials to gain support for Seoul's policy goal of building a reunified Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)