South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Friday she plans to expand inter-Korean exchanges this year with a focus on providing humanitarian aid to the North Korean people.

Park made the remarks at a New Year's meeting with some 500 South Korean women leaders, asking that they actively take part in efforts to reunite the two Koreas.

“The last major task ahead of us is to overcome the disconnection and conflict of 70 years of separation and open the path to an era of a reunified Korean Peninsula," Park said during the meeting at the Korean Women's Development Institute in northern Seoul.

"In the new year, I plan to carry out practical and specific inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects in order to lay the foundation for a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula."

The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.

"I plan to prioritize humanitarian projects aimed at reducing the pain of the North Korean people's lives, such as aid projects in maternal and child health care," Park said.

Hopes have grown for a possible thaw in the strained inter-Korean ties as both sides recently made separate offers to hold high-level talks. (Yonhap)