South Korea's President-elect Park Geun-hye has said that she gives top priority for national security in the face of a "grave" security challenge from North Korea, which was underscored by its successful launch of a long-range rocket recently.
Addressing a news conference at her Saenuri Party headquarters in Seoul on Thursday, the country's first woman leader said she would try to promote reconciliation, cooperation and peace in North-East Asia based on a "correct perception of history."
Park repeated the promise she made during election campaign "to open a new era on the Korean peninsula, based on strong security and trust-based diplomacy."
Her remarks bear significance in the background of tensions in the region, especially a dispute between the other two Asian heavy weights China and Japan over claims on the Senkakau islands.
"This election was held in the middle of rapid changes in the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula," and Wednesday's electoral victory gave her a mission "to push wisely forward through these crises," Park told reporters after a visit to the National Cemetery to pay her respects to former leaders, which included her father Park Chung-hee.
"I will open up a new era of fresh changes and reforms," read a visitor's message she left at the memorial.
In the run-up to the election, she had apologized for human rights violations committed during the rule of her father. Park Chung-hee was accused of ruthlessly crushing rebels during his 18-year-long rule that ended in 1979 when his spy chief assassinated him.
His 60-year-old daughter promised to formulate policies that will create more jobs and redistribute wealth so that the fruits of economic growth are shared together without anyone being sidelined.
Pyongyang has not yet commented on her victory, but in a statement coinciding the election outcome, the North Korean state news agency KCNA said the Saenuri Party, or New Frontier Party, "has become more undisguised in its moves to escalate the confrontation with compatriots in the north."
It accused the "vicious elements" of the party of "seriously defaming the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK" in its recent election campaign. The harshly-worded statement termed the Saenuri Party as "a group of confrontation maniacs" and "traitors who stoop to any infamy to realize its ambition to seize power."
The Saenuri Party, known for its tough stand on Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, retained power in the closely contested polls in which Park defeated the unified Opposition candidate Moon Jae-in by a narrow margin.
Outgoing President Lee Myung-bak has given instruction to ensure a smooth transition to the incoming government, which is scheduled to inaugurate in February, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported quoting presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States, Seoul's long-time allies, offered expansion of cooperation with the incoming President.
"As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations, we look forward to continuing work with you to further expand our cooperation, including in the economic field, and promote peace, security and respect for human rights, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in a joint statement.
In a statement congratulating his incoming counterpart, U.S. President Barack Obama called South Korea "a linchpin" of security in Asia, and cited the global partnership the two nations share with "deep economic, security and people-to-people ties."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.