SEOUL: South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Friday the ministry aims to take a leading role in establishing policies toward North Korea.

In a policy briefing to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Chung said the ministry, which is in charge of relations with Pyongyang, would "strengthen its leading role as a party directly involved in the Korean Peninsula issue," Yonhap News Agency reported.

Chung also said international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its illegal nuclear and missile programs have effectively lost their bite, adding the ministry will seek sanctions relief in a bid to reengage the country.

"In order to buttress inter-Korean and multilateral exchanges and cooperation, (the ministry) plans to discuss and seek the relaxation of sanctions," Chung told the briefing.

"There are some arguments calling for the strengthening of sanctions on North Korea, but, realistically, sanctions against Pyongyang have lost their effectiveness," the minister said.

North Korea's trade with China, which accounts for most of Pyongyang's external commerce, now goes partly unscreened, while the regime regards sanctions as "the most hostile" action against it, he said, as the rationale for seeking sanctions relief.

Seeking dialogue with North Korea while keeping sanctions against them in place would not be acceptable to Pyongyang, he noted.

Whether lifting sanctions against North Korea would be possible, however, remains unclear as Washington reportedly remains skeptical.

Acting US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim reportedly told Chung during their meeting last month of the need to maintain sanctions on North Korea as a source of bargaining leverage in potential negotiations with North Korea.

Chung also said the period leading up to US President Donald Trump's planned visit to China in April would be a "decisive" one in determining security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, referring to the possibility of Trump resuming summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the Asian trip.

Chung also suggested plans to establish a financial transaction arrangement system to facilitate North Korea's external commerce even under the sanctions regime.

"We would seek a system ... under which North Korea could import essential resources, such as livelihood goods or hygienic or medical supplies ... while exporting its mineral and rare earth resources, with the payments deposited into an escrow financial arrangement account so the international community can transparently scrutinize them," he said.

Escrow is a legal arrangement in which a neutral third party holds funds for two parties in a transaction until their contract requirements are met.

Chung also put forth a broad vision to build an express train line that links Seoul to Beijing via North Korea as part of efforts to improve ties with Pyongyang.