South Korea’s Unification Minister says Seoul will use every momentum available to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table on its denuclearization.

In a speech during the foundation ceremony for a foreign affairs and security forum at the National Assembly Thursday, Cho Myoung-gyon noted that the North has stated it will sit down for talks with the U.S. after it mastered its nuclear weapons program.

He said now that the North declared what it called “historic completion of national nuclear weapons capability,” he is expecting a change in circumstances toward talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Cho, however, said military tension is still growing on the Korean Peninsula, while predicting possible negotiations between the U.S. and the North will go through a difficult process given their substantial differences.