President Park Geun-hye says that the most basic foundation for her “Korean Peninsula trust process” policy is South Korea's strong defense capabilities.

Park made the remark on Friday during a lunch meeting with top military commanders at the presidential office.

She added that she will discuss her North Korea policy with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the South Korea-China summit slated to be held in Beijing later this month.

The president said that the South could block the North’s provocation and induce the North's genuine change only when it keeps perfect military readiness and deterrence against Pyongyang.

She then praised the military’s efforts, attributing the North's recent proposal for inter-Korean talks to the hard work of the military that has maintained a firm security posture.

She also thanked U.S. troops for keeping a solid defense posture along with South Korean troops.