10/30(월)Ban to Name Non-Korean as UN Envoy to North

[Ross(황세영)]

10/30(월)Ban to Name Non-Korean as UN Envoy to North

By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Ban Ki-moon, the next U.N. secretary-general, speaks during an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul, Friday.  /Yonhap Ban Ki-moon, the next U.N. secretary-general, reaffirmed in Seoul on Friday that he will appoint a U.N. special envoy to North Korea when he takes over the secretariat of the global body next year. He also pledged that the United Nations will pay more attention to improving the human rights situation in the isolated country. In an effort to resolve the nuclear standoff with the North, Ban said he plans to visit Beijing next week. Regarding the appointment of a special envoy, Ban said the U.N. official would be selected from among ``non-Koreans'' well versed in North Korea issues so that the diplomat can exercise knowledge and experience for practical improvement of the security situation in Northeast Asia. ``I think it is necessary to name a special envoy who will take care of issues on the Korean Peninsula,'' Ban, minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in an interview with The Korea Times. He will take office on Jan. 1, replacing Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who retires on Dec. 31 after serving 10 years at the United Nations. Ban, 62, said the appointment would be made after a consensus-brokering process between the 15-member U.N. Security Council and the participants in the six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs. He declined to mention whether it would be possible to differentiate the new envoy's role from the previous one, who was appointed by Annan and is said to have failed to make any tangible progress. The U.N. envoy's post has been vacant for the last 18 months. Maurice Strong, the former envoy, stepped down in April 2005 for suspicious ties to a South Korean businessman, Park Tong-sun, who was accused in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal in Iraq. It has been difficult for the United Nations to focus on North Korea because of the geopolitical position of the Korean Peninsula _ a hot spot where the interests of major powers converge. Ban's plan to name a North Korea envoy has been interpreted as evidence of his strong will to pay more attention to North Korea than his predecessor did. In a recent interview with the Times, a daily in London, Ban said it is ``quite natural'' for him to focus more on North Korea because he comes from South Korea. Ban, however, said South Koreans need to understand that he is a ``Korean secretary-general,'' not ``Korea's secretary-general,'' indicating that his work in the United Nations will be impartial. He said his hope to visit Pyongyang himself still holds, but added he does not have a detailed plan at the moment. ``I will review the possibility of a visit, if necessary, after holding consultations with the six-party talks participants and the U.N. Security Council members as well as considering the developing situation on the Korean Peninsula and the two Koreas' stances,'' he said. Ban will visit Security Council nations, beginning in Beijing, next week to discuss his future plans for the United Nations as well as pending issues, such as North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. As for the human rights issue, Ban said he is ``seriously'' concerned about it and promised to do his best to practically improve the situation in North Korea by using his authority as the U.N. secretary-general. ``I gather the situation does not show any signs of improvement, or rather it is deteriorating in some areas,'' he said. ``As the foreign minister of South Korea and the next U.N. secretary-general, I am seriously concerned about this situation.'' His remarks came as Vitit Muntarbhorn, the U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights, said in a report released Thursday that the North Korean regime puts disabled people in camps where they are sorted by their handicap and subject to ``subhuman conditions.''