South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Saturday that North Korea should resolve its nuclear problem first if it wants to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, officials said.

   Park met with Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator for Florida, at her office and discussed matters of mutual concern, including the North's nuclear problem, said the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

   "North Korea suddenly offered a conciliatory gesture, but history shows that the North provoked or reneged on its promise following such an overture," Park said.

   Park was referring to a recent series of North Korean peace gestures that included an end to mutual slander and military provocations. The North also demanded the cancellation of scheduled South Korea-U.S. military exercises set to begin in late February.

   Park said that North Korea has always been unpredictable so South Korea and the U.S. should keep a close watch on its behavior.

   Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as well as the Sub-committee on East Asian & Pacific Affairs, was in Seoul as part of his Asian trip that also included a stop in Tokyo.

   Rubio was quoted by the South Korean presidential office as telling Park that the allies should strength cooperation in dealing with North Korea. (Yonhap News)