Obama, Ban and other leaders congratulate Park

U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders congratulated Park Geun-hye on her election as the next president on Wednesday.

“I look forward to working closely with the Park administration to further enhance our extensive cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a wide range of important bilateral, regional and global issues,” recently reelected U.S. leader said in a statement.

“The U.S.-ROK alliance serves as a lynchpin of peace and security in the Asia Pacific, and our two nations share a global partnership with deep economic, security, and people-to-people ties.”

Japan’s incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that he would seek close communication with Park to enhance bilateral ties.

Economic and personal exchanges between the two countries are solid and they also share strategic interests, Abe said in a statement after Park’s victory.

Acting-Prime Minister Wayne Swan of Australia welcomes Park as the president of Australia’s fourth-largest trading partner.

“The government looks forward to working with President-elect Park after she is sworn in on Feb. 25 and I am confident the bilateral relationship will continue to deepen under her presidency,” Acting-Prime Minister Swan said in a statement.

He said Australia had long held Park in high regard.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also congratulated her election by issuing a statement that says he is ready to work with South Korea’s new president to promote peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and is ready to visit North Korea when the time is right.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary that the new president-elect will bring out new opportunities for further development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)