U.N. chief urges more active S. Korean role on global stage

SEOUL, July 5 Kyodo - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and South Korea leaders agreed in talks Friday that South Korea should play a more active role in tackling global challenges.

Ban told reporters after meetings with Prime Minister Han Seung Soo and Foreign
Minister Yu Myung Hwan that they shared the view that Seoul should expand its
contribution to resolving global issues such as the climate change and the food crisis.

''The (South) Korean government reaffirmed its determination to increase
concrete contribution to meeting these challenges,'' he said.

Later Friday, Ban met with President Lee Myung Bak, who told him, ''I think
Korea should play its role in a more active way in the international
community.''

In a news conference, Ban reaffirmed his willingness to visit North Korea but
said he has no concrete plan to make the trip at the moment.

Ban, who served as South Korea's foreign minister from 2004-2006, arrived in
Seoul on Thursday for a five-day visit to his homeland -- his first since
becoming U.N. secretary general.

In an address at Seoul National University on Thursday, Ban remarked how South
Korea has transformed ''on a scale unimaginable when I was a young boy'' from a
country devastated by war, poverty, and famine to one that is now prosperous,
democratic and respects human rights.

''Even dreamers could not have projected such a profound metamorphosis of our
land and our nation,'' he said.

The secretary general told the students now is the time for South Koreans to
help others follow same path to prosperity, democracy, and respect for human
rights.

''By serving others, we serve ourselves, as Korea's future is tied to the
world's future. Our fates are inseparable. We Koreans can, and must, play a
larger role in addressing the pressing challenges on the global agenda,'' he said.

The U.N. chief outlined four challenges he said will shape the world's future
-- uncontrolled climate change and environmental degradation; food, water, and
energy shortages caused by population and economic growth; human rights abuses;
and transnational security threats such as the weapons proliferation, failing
states, organized crime and terrorism.
==Kyodo