Seoul, Sep 9 (IANS): South Korea's defence minister has said that North Korea has nothing to gain from its missile and nuclear threats, Xinhua reported citing Yonhap News Agency Monday.

Seoul would pursue peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula by establishing a new inter-Korean relationship based on trust and cooperation with the international community, Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin said at a forum in Seoul.

The defence ministry said in a report last week that Pyongyang has made headway in its capability to weaponise its nuclear programme, warning that it has developed into a real threat now that it can actually be weaponised and used at any time.

In late August, South Korean President Park Geun-hye had urged North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, stating that Pyongyang was still adhering to nuclear weapons development despite opposition from international communities.

Pyongyang test-fired a long range rocket in December 2012 and conducted its third nuclear test in February 2013, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. These actions led to additional sanctions by the UN Security Council against North Korea.

North Korea, however, has shown its intention to rejoin the six-party talks, a multilateral negotiating body to dismantle the country's nuclear programme, but it has yet to make clear its willingness to give up its nuclear weapons programme.