UN, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged the North on Wednesday to abandon its nuclear program.

Speaking to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, Lee said that North Korea should rejoin talks on its nuclear program.

"Denuclearization is a prerequisite to paving a path toward genuine reconciliation and unification in the Korean Peninsula," Lee said.

"A nuclear weapons free Korean Peninsula must be realized to achieve peace in Northeast Asia and beyond," he went on.

He also reiterated that the South would offer economic and political incentives for the North to scrap its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea quit international talks and announced the restart of its nuclear program after the UN Security Council condemned its April 5 long-range missile launch. The Security Council imposed tougher sanctions on the North after it conducted its second nuclear test in May.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama warned the leaders of North Korea and Iran that they would be "held accountable" if they continued to disregard international law.

"If the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards; if they...are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both East Asia and the Middle East, then they must be held accountable," he said in his maiden speech at the UN General Assembly.