Former President Kim Dae-jung has urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to place top priority on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

In a meeting with foreign news correspondents in Seoul Thursday, Kim said Washington's incoming administration should pursue a "package deal" with Pyongyang, with equal give-and-take from both sides.

The former president said that ideally, the U.S. would assure North Korea of its security and normalize bilateral diplomatic relations, and in return, Washington would secure an agreement from Pyongyang which would denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Kim called on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to halt his country’s criticism of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and accept Seoul’s requests to resume dialogue.

He also asked Lee to halt civic groups’ distribution of anti-communist leaflets to the North and to honor and abide by previous inter-Korean agreements.