Park also said she will try to promote reconciliation, cooperation and peace in Northeast Asia based on a "correct perception of history," a remark seen as targeting Korea's former colonial ruler Japan that has long been accused of failing to fully repent for its militaristic past.
"This election was held in the middle of rapid changes in the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula," Park told reporters at Saenuri Party headquarters. "North Korea's long-range missile launch symbolically showed the gravity of the security reality we are faced with."
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Regional tensions stemming from sovereignty and history spats in Northeast Asia and the global economic difficulties also weigh heavily on South Korea, she said, adding she believes Wednesday's election gave her a mission "to push wisely forward through these crises."
"I will keep my promise to the people without fail that I will open up a new era of the Korean Peninsula through strong national security and trust-based diplomacy," she said.
Park, the eldest daughter of late strongman and President Park Chung-hee, won Wednesday's election with 51.6 percent of the vote against her opposition rival Moon Jae-in's 47.9 percent. Park is set to be officially sworn in as South Korea's first female president in late February.
North Korea's successful rocket launch on Dec. 12 sparked concern that Pyongyang is closer to developing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Though the rocket carried a satellite, the liftoff was widely seen as a banned missile test.
Later in the day, Park is scheduled to meet with U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen, her first diplomatic activity since being elected, to discuss security and other forms of cooperation with two of the most important nations for South Korea.
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