Park urges north Korea to embrace her vision for inter-Korean peace

South Korean President Park Geun-hye urged North Korea Tuesday to embrace her outreach to promote peace on the divided peninsula through confidence-building measures, saying Pyongyang should no longer squander scarce resources for nuclear development. Park made the remark during a meeting with local religious leaders, referring to her "Korean Peninsula trust process" vision that calls for greater exchanges and dialogue between the two sides so as to build trust and reduce tensions across their heavily fortified border. "North Korea is wasting resources for nuclear development while its people are living very difficult lives," she said. "North Korea should follow on the path for the Korean Peninsula Peace Process that the (South's) new government proposes." Park expressed concern that the security crisis on the peninsula is deepening due to repeated provocations by the North while stressing that one of her top priorities is to maintain and promote peace on the peninsula so as ultimately to lay the foundation for unification. North Korea has sharply ratcheted up tensions in recent weeks with repeated war threats against the South in anger over joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as well as a new U.N. Security Council resolution for its third nuclear test. "I hope the religious leaders here will play greater roles to help North Korea to open up to the outside world and take better care of the people's lives," Park said, noting that religious organizations have worked hard to deliver aid to North Korean people and to bring peace on the peninsula. "I hope you will help peace take root on the Korean Peninsula and safeguard the nation with prayers," she said. Park also stressed that the North Korean nuclear issue is not a matter that can be overlooked, saying: "We can't live with nuclear weapons on our heads." She also said South Korea will deal resolutely with any North Korean provocations, according her spokeswoman Kim Haing. Still, Park said she is also ready to provide assistance if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear ambitions. The Soviet Union "used to have nuclear weapons. But how did it end up after all?" she said, according to the spokeswoman. "Possessing nuclear weapons does not resolve all problems. The entire world is moving toward denuclearization. Nuclear weapons won't make anything possible, but only cause isolation," she said. "Which country would invest in a country that threatens world peace with nuclear weapons? I hope North Korea will make the right decision." Park also took a swipe at political leaders, saying politicians must put the interests of the public ahead of their own political gains, an apparent reference to the recently-ended protracted standoff in parliament over her government reorganization proposal. "I believe that politicians, including myself, should devote themselves to the country and the people as religious leaders do," she said. "They shouldn't disregard problems of the people while being preoccupied with political interests."