The international community needs to exert all-out pressure on North Korea at present but also should not rule out an option for engagement with Pyongyang over the long haul, an ex-Korean point man on unification said Monday.

Former Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae said dialogue with North Korea needs to be considered in the long term as the effect of sanctions will better materialize if there is some sort of parallel engagement policy.

"For now, an all-out pressure on North Korea is inevitable since the regime refuses to talk and continues the path of nuclear armament," Ryoo said in a prepared speech text written in English for a forum on unification.

"All things considered, however, we should not rule out the option of engagement on a mid- to long-term basis. Today's sanctions and pressure against the North will only bear fruit when engagement and its expansion run parallel," he said.

North Korea has made strides in developing its nuclear and missile programs with Pyongyang conducting two nuclear tests this year alone following ones in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

The United Nations Security Council slapped the toughest sanctions on North Korea in March for its fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year. It is working on a fresh sanctions resolution for the latest nuke test in September.

Ryoo said history showed that neither unilateral pressure or engagement has been able to bring about real change in the North Korean regime.

"Despite the North's nuclear ambitions and our strong sanctions against it, we shouldn't dismiss the prospects of limited or all-out engagement," he said. (Yonhap)