South Korea’s foreign minister says Seoul is considering lifting some of its unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang to create more momentum for diplomacy aimed at improving relations and defusing the nuclear crisis.

Kang Kyung-wha told MPs that the government is reviewing whether to lift sanctions South Korea imposed on the North in 2010 following a deadly attack on a warship that killed 45 South Korean sailors.

Seoul then effectively shut down all cross-border economic cooperation except for a joint factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, where business activities and investment were also scaled back.

Mike Pompeo and Kim Jong Un
Ties have warmed with North Korea in recent months (North Korean government/AP)

Seoul shut down the Kaesong factory park in February 2016 in retaliation over a North Korean nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

The South’s potential removal of unilateral sanctions would be a largely symbolic move as it is virtually impossible for South Korea to resume joint economic projects with North Korea under US-led international sanctions, which have been strengthened considerably since 2016 as the North accelerated its nuclear and missile tests.