SOUTH KOREAN President Moon Jae-in said yesterday that he could push for exemptions of U.N. sanctions placed on North Korea as a way to achieve an expansion of inter-Korean ties that he says would help restart nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Moon has previously made similar comments, despite outside worries that any lifting of sanctions would weaken U.S.-led efforts to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. His latest overture came about two weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to bolster his nuclear deterrent in the face of what he called “gangster-like” U.S. pressure and sanctions.

Moon said at a New Year’s news conference that improved inter-Korean cooperation would spur progress in stalemated nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the U.S. and help gather international support for sanctions exemptions.

“If exceptions from U.N. sanctions are necessary for South-North cooperation, I think we can make efforts for that,” Moon said. “I think there is a heightened need for South and North Korea to dial up their cooperation a little bit and promote North Korea-U.S. talks, rather than just looking at North Korea-U.S. talks.”

Moon acknowledged that efforts to boost inter-Korean ties would have limits because of the U.N. sanctions. But he said exchanges in sports and South Korean tours to North Korea are among the areas where the two Koreas can cooperate without violating the U.N. sanctions.

It was unclear how North Korea would respond to Moon’s comments. The North recently has ignored his calls for dialogue and pressed South Korea not to meddle in negotiations with the United States.

(SD-Agencies)