Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Monday the government is still open to dialogue with North Korea despite its series of provocative acts.

“We decided to bring back all the remaining personnel in Gaeseong for their protection,” said Yun during a forum in Seoul co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the private East Asia Institute. “Nevertheless, the window for dialogue with North Korea is still open.”

Referring to the Korean Peninsula Trust Building Process championed by President Park-Geun-hye, Yun said Seoul was “trying to send a clear and consistent message to North Korea, but at the same time maintaining our strong deterrence in place.”

The doctrine that is the backbone of Park’s North Korean policy calls for engagement with Pyongyang by honoring all past promises made between the two Koreas.

The nation’s top diplomat, however, also warned that North Korea’s isolation would deepen if the North repeated the same cycle of stoking tensions in an attempt to gain economic benefits.

By sticking to its “old play book,” Yun said, North Korea’s “dream of becoming a nuclear power and achieving economic development would end in vain.”

He called on the North to drop its nuclear ambitions but, at the same time, stressed the need for international cooperation to bring the North closer to talks.

“What’s most important is the North should make the right choice to change itself. But the international community also needs to make efforts to build an environment conducive to change in the North,” he said.

Tensions have run high on the peninsula as Pyongyang unleashed verbal threats to launch military attacks on Seoul and Washington, in anger at the latest United Nations sanctions, and joint military drills by the two allies.

South Korea and the United States are set to complete a two-month joint military drill on Tuesday, according to the Combined Forces Command.

The Foal Eagle exercise, which began in March, has heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula as the communist country responded angrily to the drills that involved nuclear-capable bombers and F-22 stealth jets sent from overseas U.S. bases.

Combined with Park’s visit to Washington slated for May 7, observers believe the completion of the joint drill could bring an air of reconciliation to the current inter-Korean stalemate.