SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry reaffirmed its stance Monday on seeking "realistic and practical" solutions to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, focusing on halting North Korea's nuclear programs.

"The ministry's position has not budged from seeking a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in cooperation with the international community," Yoon Min-ho, the ministry's spokesperson, said at a regular briefing.

"Given the gravity of North Korean nuclear issues, we will focus on halting North Korea's nuclear programs, and seek to find realistic and practical solutions," he said.

His remarks came in response to a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, carried by the Korean Central News Agency earlier in the day.

She rejected outright a joint statement released Saturday after the annual foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, which reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea.

North Korea's "nuclear capability will be updated steadily without a momentary stagnation," she said.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said last week the government has moved away from prioritizing North Korea's denuclearization, instead framing peace as a necessary first step to reviving stalled talks with Pyongyang.

"For the past year, the Lee Jae Myung government has practically abolished the previous government's stance centered on achieving denuclearization first, or its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) policy, and shifted toward a 'peace-first' policy," Chung said.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr

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