Seoul’s unification minister Chung Dong-young said South Korea does not plan to amend its constitution to recognize North Korea as an independent country, despite his recent comments stating that the two Koreas function as two separate states.

Speaking at an event in Berlin on Monday, Chung also said that Seoul must acknowledge that the DPRK now possesses the ability to strike the U.S. with nuclear weapons as a starting point for inter-Korean policy.