French President Francois Hollande has congratulated South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye on her election victory, promising to work closely together on North Korea issues and other areas of mutual interest, the French Embassy in Seoul said Monday.

“Korea and France have developed deep ties of friendship and cooperation for many years,” Hollande was quoted as saying in an e-mailed translation of a letter dated Dec. 20, the day after Park’s election.

“At this historic moment, I want to assure you that France is committed to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and is actively engaged in the fight against nuclear and ballistic proliferation,” the letter said, in an apparent reference to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and recent launching of a long-range rocket seen as a cover for a ballistic missile test.

Hollande also praised South Korea’s active role in the international community, including its non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council starting next month, and expressed hope the two countries’ bilateral ties will grow further.

“Your knowledge of France and your personal ties with our country will be essential in this regard,” he said.

The 60-year-old Park of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party studied in France for several months in 1974 before her mother was killed in a bungled assassination attempt on her father, then-President Park Chung-hee.

The authoritarian president was later assassinated by his intelligence agency chief in 1979.

Park will succeed President Lee Myung-bak, who is barred by law from seeking re-election, in late February. (Yonhap News)