President Donald Trump says a South Korean proposal to lift some unilateral sanctions on the North will only take place with his say-so.

Asked about Seoul considering lifting some sanctions to create space for diplomacy with North Korea, Trump says: “They won’t do that without our approval. They do nothing without our approval.”

Trump has encouraged U.S. allies to maintain sanctions on North Korea until it denuclearizes as part of what his administration has termed a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Kim Jong-Un’s government.

South Korea’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Wednesday the government is reviewing whether to lift sanctions imposed on the North in 2010 following a deadly attack on a warship that killed 45 South Korean sailors. The move would be largely symbolic because of tough U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

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