Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said in a news conference Tuesday that the time from now to next spring will be critical in efforts to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue.

He particularly cited U.S. President Donald Trump's tour of Northeast Asia early next month and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) summit in Vietnam on November tenth and the eleventh.

The minister seems to point to speculation that if Trump conveys signals for North Korea to come to the negotiating table during his Asia visit, it could foster conditions to ease current tensions and enable a shift toward a dialogue phase. 

The minister's mention of next spring is believed to have considered the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and whether North Korea will take part in the games as well as the South Korea-U.S. Key Resolve military exercise. 

Cho said that North Korea also appears to view current circumstances as a crisis.