Park Geun-Hye, the daughter of South Korea's late military ruler, has been sworn in as the country's first female president. Monday's two-and-a-half hour inauguration ceremony included a 21-gun salute and a performance by Korean rapper Psy, whose song "Gangnam Style" was the global hit of 2012. As leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, Park, 61, faces significant challenges, including a nuclearised North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies. "North Korea's recent nuclear test is a challenge to the survival and future of the Korean people," Park said in her inauguration speech. "I urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay and embark on the path to peace and shared development." Park had campaigned on a promise of greater, "trust-based" engagement with Pyongyang. Observers say her hands have been tied by the international outcry over Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, which will have emboldened members of her ruling conservative party who oppose closer engagement. John Delury, a professor of International Relations at Yonsei University in Seoul, told Al Jazeera North Korea "is notoriously a difficult country to engage with", but despite that "expectations are high" among the South Korean public. "But, she has to start by reopening the channels of dialogue directly with North Korea and through that find the steps to improve relations," he said.
