Anchor: In her speech at the parliament, President Park also asked lawmakers to swiftly approve the government's 2017 spending plan, which she said will help overcome the current security and economic crises faced by South Korea.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
Report: President Park has said the 400 trillion-won budget proposal will help South Korea ride out the tough economic times.
[Sound bite: President Park Geun-hye (Korean)]
"I hope that the 20th National Assembly will meet the statutory deadline for the budget proposal and resolve pending issues through discussions and negotiations as a way to show hope for new politics to the people."
While pressing lawmakers for the swift handling of the bill, she noted that the expansionary budget is cautiously drafted so as not to hurt the government's mid to long-term fiscal health.
The president also said the government increased the budgets for the cultural sector and job creation as well as funds to respond preemptively to research and development and the fourth industrial revolution.
[Sound bite: President Park Geun-hye (Korean)]
"Our strength to lead the fourth industrial revolution comes from the culture sector. As our country is particularly advanced in the ICT field and providing excellent cultural content, we can create new industries and jobs by combining culture and industry through our 'cultural prosperity (initiative)'.
On the North Korea front, Park noted that the Pyongyang regime conducted three nuclear tests since Kim Jong-un came to power, and is now trying to enter the stage for actually building nuclear weapons.
While reassuring of the airtight alliance with the U.S., Park said South Korea will make every effort to establish its own deterrence systems including the Kill Chain, Korea Air Missile Defense and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan.
The address was Park's sixth speech at the National Assembly and her fourth parliamentary policy speech.
Prior to the address, Park spoke with National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and the leadership of the ruling and opposition parties for 20 minutes.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.
Source: KBS World Radio
