President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called on North Korea to heed lessons from Hungary’s democratic transition, saying the communist state’s parallel pursuit of nuclear and economic development would never be successful.

During her summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader, Park expressed hope for the Eastern European country’s cooperation in convincing Pyongyang to change course and relinquish its nuclear ambition.

“North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and thus consistently poses a threat to peace on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” she said.

“I hope to work more closely with Hungary so that (North Korea) will realize as soon as possible that its parallel pursuit (the so-called byungjin policy) won’t succeed and it needs to take the path of change and development by learning from Hungary’s successful experience of political transformation.” 

On the bilateral front, Park displayed gratitude for Budapest’s decision to defy various difficulties and forge diplomatic relations with Seoul as a member of the former Soviet bloc in 1989.

The two sides agreed to boost collaboration in information technology, auto parts, biomedicine and other up-and-coming industries, Cheong Wa Dae said. A large delegation of Korean leaders of small and medium-sized businesses is scheduled to visit Hungary this week, in line with an agreement between the two presidents during their last summit in November.

Park has been holding summits with leaders such as Ader on the margins of the ongoing World Water Forum in Daegu and Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

Later in the day, she met with Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome and agreed to accelerate the two countries’ plan to set up a textile factory complex and boost rural development based on South Korea’s Saemaul Movement in the East African country through official development assistance.

With Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed, chairman of the Crown Prince Court in Abu Dhabi, Park discussed ways to expand cooperation, such as in desalination technology, facilitate investment and carry out joint projects elsewhere by combining South Korea’s advanced technology and the Gulf country’s networking and financing capabilities, the presidential palace said.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)