Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
UN chief to visit NK industrial complex
Ban offers to mediate on regime’s military threat
By Jung Min-ho, Jun Ji-hye
INCHEON _ U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that he will visit the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea, Thursday, to “facilitate peace and stability” on the Korean Peninsula.
“I reiterate my willingness to do whatever it takes to contribute to improving inter-Korean relations and promoting reconciliation and stability in the region,” he said during a press conference at the World Education Forum in the Songdo Convensia.
Whether Ban will meet with any of North Korea’s high-profile politicians is unclear yet. The U.N. will send an advance team there Wednesday to discuss the details of his schedule.
For now, he plans to visit South Korean factories operating at the complex and meet with North Korean workers there.
“The Gaeseong project is a win-win model for both Koreas,” he said. “It symbolizes a good way to tap the advantages of the Koreas in a complementary manner.
“The main purpose of the visit is to encourage more of such cooperation.”
The visit comes as tensions have escalated on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, will be the first U.N. chief to visit the reclusive state in 22 years since former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali did so in 1993.
When asked if his plan “has anything to do with his political ambitions” in South Korea, Ban clarified that he will focus on his mission as the head of the U.N. until his tenure ends in December of 2016.
Earlier that day at the Asian Leadership Conference, an event arranged by the vernacular daily Chosun Ilbo, Ban also expressed his “readiness to visit Pyongyang” during his keynote speech.
“My message to both Koreas is the United Nations is your United Nations,” he said. “We are here to offer a helping hand. With the consent of our partners, we can assist in confidence-building measures, mediation, and promoting and helping in establishing rule of law and promoting human rights.”
Ban called on all the parties concerned to make efforts to restart the stalled six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who visited Seoul this week called the North's launch of SLBM a grave provocation and a violation of international agreements. Kerry emphasized the need to bring in the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to South Korea, which has become a bone of contention with China and Russia.
Ban noted that he urged Japanese political leaders to take future-oriented approach and remember the past, during his recent visit to Japan.
His remarks were an indirect call on Tokyo to change its attitude when dealing with issues of historical conflict with Seoul such as Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women before and during World War II.
He also cited the need for Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo to make more efforts toward dialogue, as they held the trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in March.
Ban arrived in Seoul Monday for a five-day visit _ his first trip to his home country in nearly two years.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye