The message to North Korea was clear: put an immediate stop to any plans for a third nuclear test.. or pay the price.

President-elect Park met with ruling Saenuri Party leader Hwang Woo-yea and main opposition Democratic United Party interim leader Moon Hee-sang Thursday afternoon, during which they adopted a statement warning Pyongyang that South Korea will not, in any circumstances, tolerate North Korea's nuclear weapons program.


"North Korea will never get what it wants as long as it holds on to its nuclear ambition."


Park also said that.. should Pyongyang go ahead with the test, the communist state will only be further isolating itself from the international community while also flaunting the incoming government's sincere efforts to restore confidence between the two Koreas.

The three parties present at the Thursday meeting agreed to work closely together on national security issues.. and asked the government as well as the military to do their best to ease public anxiety about North Korea's "reckless" behavior.

But North Korea wasn't the only topic on the table.

During the meeting, the president-elect and party leaders also promised to push ahead with pledges related to improving people's livelihoods, and set up a consultative group to discuss these issues.

"President-elect Park Geun-hye will finally make her first round of nominations for key government posts on Friday. But as of yet there's been no confirmation of whether Friday's list will include the nominees for prime minister or chief of staff. The second round of nominations will be made after the three-day Lunar New Year holiday, which ends Monday.

Eoh Jin-joo, Arirang News."

Reporter : jjeoh@arirang.co.kr