(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121219-sk-pres-9a.photoblog600.jpg)Chung Sung-Jun / Getty ImagesSouth Korea's first female leader, Park Geun-Hye. By Julie Yoo, NBC NewsPark Geun-hye, the daughter of a former military ruler became the South Korea’s first female leader Wednesday, saying she would work to heal a divided society.
The 60-year old conservative, will return to the presidential palace in Seoul where she served as her father's first lady in the 1970s, after her mother was assassinated by a North Korean-backed gunman.
News agency Yonhap said the result could have profound impacts on the country’s foreign policy, particularly with regard to its Communist neighbor, North Korea.
Park has said she would negotiate with Kim Jong-un, the youthful leader of North Korea who recently celebrated a year in office, but wants the South's isolated and impoverished neighbor to give up its nuclear weapons program as a precondition for aid, something Pyongyang has refused to do.
NBCNews