S. Korean Foreign Minister
Becomes U.N. Chief

Ban, the second Asian U.N. secretary-general, expresses concern over North Korean nuclear issue

South Korea Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon has been approved as the eighth U.N secretary-general to succeed Kofi Annan by the United Nations'General Assembly on Oct. 13.
A 62-year-old seasoned diplomat, Ban will officially take the helm of the world body for a five-year term this coming Jan. 1. He will become the second Asian U.N. chief following U Thant of Burma, who served as U.N. secretary-general from 1961 to 1971.
The endorsement came after the 15-member U.N. Security Council approved Ban to the General Assembly as the new head of the United Nations on Oct. 9. Seven candidates had run for the coveted position, but all, except Ban, quit the race as the Korean foreign minister led all four informal polls.
His election to the U.N. chief was apparently not only a matter of personal glory, but one of a national congratulation in that it is expected to raise Korea's international profile as the world's 11th largest economic power in the international community.
However, Korea's elation of Ban's election to the leader of the 192-member international organization has been eclipsed by North Korea's nuclear test, which promoted the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against the Stalinist regime's nuclear ambitions.
Not only as a Korean from a divided nation, but also U.N. chief, Ban will be faced with such daunting issues as the North Korean nuclear issue.
U.N. Secretary-General-elect Ban said he intends to keep a special envoy on North Korea to focus more U.N. attention to the North Korean nuclear issue. Despite the U.S. resolution against North Korea, North Korea is on a collision course with the international community, particularly the United States as the regime is reportedly seeking to conduct another nuclear test.
Ban backed the U.N. Security Council's "very clear, strong and unified message to North Korea"in the resolution it passed unanimously that Pyeongyang claimed nuclear test was unacceptable.
Ban stressed the need for making a two-pronged approach - relying not only on sanctions but also on dialogue and talks.
"North Korea should return to the six-party process immediately without any preconditions,"Ban said. "We need to have the North Koreans get on board the negotiations."On top of such issues as the peace in the Middle East, dealing with North Korea's nuclear threat is likely to be one of the top agendas for Ban, who has led Seoul's diplomatic efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons program since he became South Korea's foreign minister in January 2004.
A four-year international standoff over the North's nuclear activities was deteriorated on Oct. 9 after the North claimed that it conducted its first-known nuclear test, touching off worldwide shocks and criticism.
Meanwhile, in his acceptance speech before the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.N. chief-elect Ban said, "In the new century, the defining mandate is to strengthen the inter-state system so that humanity may be better served amidst new challenges.""From the Balkans to Africa, from Asia to the Middle East, we have witnessed the weakening or absence of effective governance leading to the ravaging of human rights and the abandonment of longstanding humanitarian principles. We need competent and responsible states to meet the needs of 'We the people'for whom the U.N. was created,"The said.
Ban said, "he scope of the reform has taxed the attention and energies of both the delegations and the Secretariat. We must stay the course. We should do our part in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the expanding peace operations, the threats posed by terrorism, WMD proliferation, HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, environmental degradation, and the imperatives of human rights."Ban started his career as a diplomat in 1970 after graduating from Seoul National University and finishing postgraduate course at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He was with the United Nations as first secretary of South Korea's U.N. mission between 1978 and 1980 and served as director of the Foreign Ministry's U.N. division till 1983.
Ban worked as Korea's chief envoy of the United Nations for two years from 2001 before heading the cabinet of the president of the 56th U.N. General Assembly.
Ban, as the U.N. chief, is entitled to a treatment of a status equivalent to the head of a state. He will receive an annual pay of $227,254 or about 210 million won plus payments of the money related to personal activities and security.
It remains to be seen how well Ban, a native from a small, divided nation, will steer the world body without being swayed from the influence of the United States and other superpowers, pundits say. Most of his predecessors are from the Third World. nw

U.N secretary-general-elect Ban Ki-moon