NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the U.N. will do its best to help secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula amid growing concerns over security conditions in the wake of the death of North Korea's leader.
"The secretary general reaffirms his commitment to peace and security on the Korean peninsula. The United Nations system will continue to help the people of the DPRK (North Korea)," said Ban's spokesman, Farhan Haq.
Ban served as South Korea's foreign minister before assuming the U.N. post in 2007.
Ban also extended his "sympathy" to the people of North Korea "at this time of their national mourning," according to the spokesman.
Meanwhile, the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses by a vote of 123-16, with 51 abstentions.
It urges North Korea "to immediately put an end to the systematic, widespread and grave violations." The General Assembly has adopted such a resolution against North Korea's human rights condition each year since 2005.