(VOVworld) - South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Monday urged North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme and halt its threats of provocations, saying that it would worsen Pyongyang’s isolation and economic difficulties.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye delivers her speech during a ceremony to celebrate Korean Liberation Day in Seoul. (Source: AP)

In her speech to mark the Liberation Day of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s leader defended Seoul’s plan to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as an act of self defense to counter the North’s missile threat. Ms. Park Geun-Hye expressed hope that North Korea will become a normal member of the world community that respects the universal rights of mankind and international obligations and norms.