Ban pledges to work on DPRK issues

The Republic of Korea's (ROK) Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, set to become the next UN secretary-general, pledged on Friday to help resolve the impasse over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear weapons in the country.

In an interview with ROK's Yonhap news agency, Ban said he will appoint a permanent UN special envoy to handle the DPRK nuclear standoff which has gained new urgency after the country conducted its first-ever nuclear test on October 9.

"As I watch the situation... I will also consider a trip to the DPRK myself," said Ban, who will take over the top UN job from Kofi Annan on January 1.

Ban has repeatedly said he is willing to go to Pyongyang to help resolve the nuclear impasse, which Annan has never done during his two five-year terms as the UN chief.

Ban also said he will be travelling to China next week, where he plans to hold "profound discussions on the nuclear issue." He said he will also be travelling to Russia, France, Britain and Japan.

"As the next UN secretary-general, I have seriously concerns over this situation."

The 62-year-old veteran diplomat said he will stay politically neutral in handling the nuclear crisis and other issues.

"I am a Korean secretary-general, not Korea's secretary-general," he said. "The post requires strict political neutrality."

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday he has no plans to make any concessions to get the DPRK to return to Six-Party Talks.

"In principle, the DPRK must return to the Six-Party Talks unconditionally," Abe told reporters on Friday. "It is also important that the DPRK follows the content of the United Nations resolutions."

Abe responded to a newspaper report that the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il said that Pyongyang would return to nuclear talks if Washington backs off from its financial sanctions.

"If the US makes a concession to some degree, we will also make a concession to some degree, whether it be bilateral talks or the Six-Party Talks," Kim was quoted as saying by the ROK's mass-circulation newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

The DPRK has refused since last November to return to the nuclear talks.

It has long insisted that the US desist from a campaign to sever Pyongyang's ties to the international financial system. Washington accuses Pyongyang of complicity in counterfeiting and money laundering to sell weapons.

Source: China Daily