UN Chief Visiting Korea
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a private visit that will include a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and trips to Jeju and his hometown in the central Chungcheong region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
Ban will also meet with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan to discuss nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.
"Ban's visit is routine practice of U.N. officials vacationing in their countries every two years," the ministry said.
He will participate in a meeting of the World Federation of U.N. Associations here Monday and travel Thursday to Jeju for a provincial forum on Peace.
Ban will be in his home province of North Chungcheong before returning to New York on Aug. 18.
His visit is unofficial but political analysts expect him to play a positive role in resolving the North's nuclear issues. Ban said in New York that he was prepared to visit Pyongyang if necessary.
He expressed support for direct dialogue between the United States and North Korea within the framework of the six-party talks.
The remarks came as Pyongyang hinted that it may be ready to engage the United States in dialogue following former U.S. president Bill Clinton's visit there to secure the release of two detained U.S. reporters.
The 64-year-old served as Korea's foreign minister before taking up his current post in late 2006.