South Korea's President Park Geun-hye vowed Saturday to resolve difficulties posed by North Korea's nuclear program and historical disputes with Japan, the Yonhap reported.

"We will not succumb to these difficulties. We will resolve them with our power without fail," Park said in a Memorial Day address. She did not give any details.

The comments came five days after she pressed Japan to take "courageous" action to restore the honor of the former sex slaves while they are still alive.

She also pressed North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and come forward for dialogue and cooperation so it could move toward peace and co-prosperity.

Tensions persist on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's provocative actions in recent months, including the launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.

Seoul-Tokyo relations also remain badly frayed largely because of Japan's refusal to atone for its past wrongdoings stemming from its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. One of the key pending issues is a demand by former Korean WWII sex slaves for an apology and compensation from Tokyo.