President Park Geun-hye expressed hope Saturday that South Korea and China can contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Tensions persist in the region over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as well as territorial and other history-related issues between South Korea and Japan and between China and Japan.

Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony from 1910-45 and controlled much of China in the early part of the 20th century.

Park said she hopes that South Korea and China can become close neighbors through mutual exchanges of their people.

“I also hope that the two countries can contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” Park said in a video message to Chinese Internet users uploaded on the website of the People’s Daily, the main newspaper in China. (Yonhap)