President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday blasted North Korea’s repeated provocations and nuclear ambitions, saying they had damaged Asia’s economic growth and joint efforts to maintain stability in the region.

She also called for a resolution to the North’s nuclear programs, and urged the regime to open up to the world, stressing that such steps were the “key” to peace in the region.

“The Asian region has enormous growth potential, but as long as North Korea keeps blocking the blood vessels of growth with its nuclear threats and provocations, it will be difficult to expect the region to achieve genuine stability and progress,” Park said in a speech at the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul.

The remarks came amid growing inter-Korean tension after Pyongyang said it had successfully launched a ballistic missile from a submarine and held a two-day live fire drill just north of the western maritime border last week.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also purged his defense chief Hyon Yong-chol late last month for disloyalty, South Korean lawmakers said last week quoting a confidential report by the National Intelligence Service.

Park blamed the North that its provocations have only escalated military tension in the region, and sparked serious concerns among members of the international community, calling the recent public execution of Pyongyang’s elites a “reign of terror.”

The president, however, reiterated her two-track North Korean policy, saying she would sternly deal with the regime’s threats but make efforts to help the North integrate with the international community at the same time.

The president said it was important to break the barrier between South and North Korea and create a new regional order for peace, stability and coprosperity in the region.

“To make the Eurasian Continent one, we should tear down the barbed wire that has been separating the two Koreas and impeding the exchanges of (members of) Eurasian countries and established a new order for the peace and coexistence,” she said.

To resolve regional tension, the president called for international support for her proposal to create a world peace park in the Demilitarized Zone and establish an inter-Korean channel to promote exchanges.

The president also vowed to seek exchanges at the civilian level and provide humanitarian aid for mothers and children in poverty in North Korea.

Park’s remarks also came at a time when North Korea has been verbally attacking the South Korean leader for commenting on Kim’s alleged purge of key aides.

In apparent retaliation against Park for criticizing the North over its provocations and Hyon’s execution, Pyongyang called her a “venomous snake” and claimed that she only desires power.

Inter-Korean tension has been rising despite Seoul’s recent move to defrost inter-Korean ties with civic and humanitarian exchanges.

Washington also underscored the ongoing threats from the North during the talks between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

The two reaffirmed their strong military alliance in dealing with North Korea. They also agreed to ratchet up pressure on North Korea to meet its obligations under U.N. resolutions. Kerry was in Seoul on a two-day trip.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)