South Korea is open to lifting the so-called May 24 sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) when the northern neighbor takes necessary action, Seoul's top policymaker on inter-Korean affairs said Friday.

"(South Korea) is willing to lift the sanctions. But, for this, North Korea (DPRK) has something to take,"Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told lawmakers during the parliamentary plenary session of foreign affairs and unification committee. He did not elaborate on what actions Pyongyang should take.

South Korea imposed the sanctions four years ago following the sinking of a South Korean warship. On March 26, 2010, the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan sank in waters near the western maritime border in what a Seoul-led multinational investigation team claimed was a torpedo attack by Pyongyang.

The DPRK has repeatedly denied its involvement in the incident, in which 46 South Korean sailors aboard were killed. Pyongyang has proposed to dispatch its own experts to verify the investigation result.

Seoul has imposed the May 24 sanctions since 2010, banning all inter-Korean economic and personnel exchanges expect for the joint factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

South Korea has called for the North's acknowledgment and apology for the incident, but it hasn't spelled out necessary actions the DPRK should take.

Asked whether the so-called Dresden initiative of President Park Geun-hye would be materialized with the May 24 sanctions in effect, Ryoo said part of projects can be realized though large- scale infrastructure projects will not be made possible.

President Park made a three-point proposal to the DPRK in Dresden, Germany on March 28, including a support for pregnant women and babies in the DPRK through the United Nations, infrastructure development and natural resources exploration as well as broader inter-Korean exchanges in history, culture and sports.