South Korean President Says North Korea’s Nuclear Ambitions Could Lead To ‘Regime Collapse’

South Korean President Park Geun-hye told the country's Parliament early Tuesday that her country needs to take a harder line to ensure North Korea realizes its nuclear ambitions will result in the acceleration of its “regime collapse,” the Associated Press reported.

Park gave the speech while defending her decision to shut down a jointly run factory in North Korea, which came as a result of North Korea’s latest provocations: a Jan. 6 nuclear test and a Feb. 7 rocket launch.

In addition, President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, told Reuters Monday she expects China, long North Korea's sole ally, to support new sanctions against the latter in response to the nuclear test and rocket launch.

“I think it unlikely that China wants to be seen by the international community as the protector of North Korea given its recent outrageous behavior,” Rice told reporters at a briefing.

Earlier Monday, a United Nations human rights inspector asked the U.N. to officially inform North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity, Reuters reported. The request is based on a 2014 U.N. report that appeared to confirm the presence of concentration camps in North Korea where prisoners were starved, tortured and murdered.