The president volunteered to deliver the special speech to the nation, in a move to soothe the public uproar triggered by the recent military provocations from the North and the South‘s responsive decision to shut down the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong.

The communist regime’s series of nuclear tests and ballistic missile launch clearly showed that it does not stand in line with peace, Park claimed.

The state leader pointed out that the government has spent over $2.2 billion in aid for North Korea since 1990 and 132 billion won ($108 million) on operating the Gaeseong complex.

“Most of the dollars that we have paid turned out to have taken by the leadership and its development of weapons.”

Park also expressed regrets over the criticism that the government was using the North Korean military threats as a means to kindle the public sense of crisis over national security and thus to gather votes ahead of elections.

“When it comes to national security, there can be no lines between ruling and opposition, or conservative and progressive,” Park said.

By Bae Hyun-jung(tellme@heraldcorp.com)