President Park Geun-hye proposed on Thursday that South and North Korea hold reunions for separated families and establish a peace park on their heavily armed border, a day after the two sides reached a landmark deal to reopen a joint industrial complex.

South Korea resident Park Geun-hye

In a Liberation Day address marking the end of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, Park also urged Tokyo to face up to history and take "responsible and earnest" measures to console the victims of its wartime atrocities, an apparent reference to those forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

The proposals to North Korea, if realized, could bring about a significant thaw in relations between the two sides that sank to one of their lowest levels after Pyongyang's long-range rocket launch in December, its third nuclear test in February and subsequent war threats. The offers also showed the confidence Park has gained in dealing with Pyongyang.

The North's agreement to reopen the factory park in its border city of Kaesong -- largely under conditions demanded by the South -- represented a victory for the unbending, principled approach Park has taken toward the communist nation in the face of spiraling tensions.