ID :
190537
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 01:06
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190537
The shortlink copeid
Ban well equipped to handle potential crisis in N. Korea: expert
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - The reelected United Nations leader, Ban Ki-moon, is qualified to lead the international community's handling of a potential political crisis in North Korea, given his experience before inauguration, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.
"If there is a major succession and humanitarian crisis in North Korea in the coming years, as several Korea experts have predicted, Ban will be uniquely equipped to handle potential worst-case scenarios on the peninsula and in the border region," said Daniel Runde, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He cited Ban's career as Seoul's top diplomat, which earned him a reputation for engaging Pyongyang in talks.
"In a second term as secretary general, Ban's extensive knowledge of and involvement in this issue will bear fruit," he said. "Ban's background is likewise beneficial to his handling of the Arab Spring."
Ban went through South Korea's post-war transition from dictatorship to democracy and from an agriculture-based economy to a major Asian industrial power, Runde added.
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency and other foreign news agencies in New York on Wednesday, a day after his reelection, Ban said he will continue efforts to help resolve the North Korea issue.
He said he would keep seeking a nuclear-free world and the resumption of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Ban told South Korean correspondents in New York Tuesday that his position is that the denuclearization problem should be resolved through the six-way talks, while related parties build cooperation through direct dialogue.
"I have made efforts to some extent for the past four years, but I will study (how the U.N. can help the process) with a bit deeper interest in my second term," he said.
Ban reaffirmed his willingness to visit the North.
"The North Korean authorities have a position to welcome my visit any time. I will make a decision, considering an appropriate time and expectation for a resolution to pending issues," he said.
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - The reelected United Nations leader, Ban Ki-moon, is qualified to lead the international community's handling of a potential political crisis in North Korea, given his experience before inauguration, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.
"If there is a major succession and humanitarian crisis in North Korea in the coming years, as several Korea experts have predicted, Ban will be uniquely equipped to handle potential worst-case scenarios on the peninsula and in the border region," said Daniel Runde, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He cited Ban's career as Seoul's top diplomat, which earned him a reputation for engaging Pyongyang in talks.
"In a second term as secretary general, Ban's extensive knowledge of and involvement in this issue will bear fruit," he said. "Ban's background is likewise beneficial to his handling of the Arab Spring."
Ban went through South Korea's post-war transition from dictatorship to democracy and from an agriculture-based economy to a major Asian industrial power, Runde added.
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency and other foreign news agencies in New York on Wednesday, a day after his reelection, Ban said he will continue efforts to help resolve the North Korea issue.
He said he would keep seeking a nuclear-free world and the resumption of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Ban told South Korean correspondents in New York Tuesday that his position is that the denuclearization problem should be resolved through the six-way talks, while related parties build cooperation through direct dialogue.
"I have made efforts to some extent for the past four years, but I will study (how the U.N. can help the process) with a bit deeper interest in my second term," he said.
Ban reaffirmed his willingness to visit the North.
"The North Korean authorities have a position to welcome my visit any time. I will make a decision, considering an appropriate time and expectation for a resolution to pending issues," he said.
