South Korea's point person on North Korea said Friday that the now-suspended joint industrial town in Kaesong will be the first issue to be reviewed if Pyongyang halts provocations and international sanctions are eased. Speaking at a forum here, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon reaffirmed the Moon Jae-in administration's resolve to maintain economic sanctions to punish the impoverished communist neighbor for its repeated nuclear and missile tests. Asked about the possibility of reopening the joint industrial complex in Kaesong, a North Korean border city, he said, "Realistically, it's difficult in the current situation." But the government plans to put a priority on resolving the issue if there's a change in the "sanctions phase" some day, he added. The minister stressed that there's no better way he can think of to bring a change to the isolated communist nation.