The Unification Ministry said Monday that the reason tensions and crises continue to exist between the two Koreas is because of North Korea’s endless provocations.
 
A ministry official told reporters that the Unification Ministry is an organization tasked with realizing unification on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean relations. The official then expressed hope that the North will stop its provocations and sincerely think about and actually pursue scrapping its nuclear ambitions for better ties with the South.
 
The remarks came in response to a claim by the North’s Rodong Sinmun that the Unification Ministry is a cancer-like presence in unification efforts and a huge obstacle in the path toward national reconciliation, unity and improved inter-Korean ties.
 
The official said that such a claim makes no sense, stressing that the North’s provocations and threats are the very source of crises on the peninsula.