S. Korea leader offers North 'flexible' engagement

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's new president Park Geun-Hye offered a "more flexible" engagement with North Korea on Friday if Pyongyang chooses a path of trust-building rather than provocation.

In an annual speech marking Korea's 1919 uprising against Japan's colonial rule, Ms Park urged Pyongyang to understand that "nothing will be gained from nuclear development or provocations save for greater isolation and hardship".

Ms Park was inaugurated as South Korea's first woman president on Monday, less than two weeks after North Korea triggered global outrage by conducting its third nuclear test.

"While provocations by the North will be met by stronger counter-responses, the North's willingness to make the right choice and walk the path of change will be answered with more flexible engagement," the president said.