New UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Begins Tenure
The new eighth UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon started his tenure yesterday. Ban arrived at the United Nations headquarters at 9:30. He made his way to the Meditation Room first to pay respects to UN peacekeepers, prior to his meeting with reporters.
He said, “We face a lot of daunting issues to be resolved, related with Sudan, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and the North Korean nuclear program,” stressing, “As these international issues cannot be resolved by a powerful nation alone, the international community’s collaboration is very much required.”
In particular, when asked about the six-party talks over the North’s nuclear program, he explained his past experience as a Korean foreign minister, “The nuclear issue is one of the priorities the UN has to deal with.” It means that Ban has a strong intention to give priority to the issue during his tenure.
He added, “I will discuss the issue with related nations and UN Security Council members as the UN Secretary-General and intercessor.” Concerning the current hot issue of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s execution, he said, “He has a clear criminal responsibility for executing innocent Iraqi citizens, and we will not forget the victims,” adding, “Death penalty law is a matter that each nation determines for itself."
At his news conference, he stated that his first official overseas visit will be Africa, “I will attend the African Union summits to be held in January.”
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 / 입력시간: 2007. 01.04. 08:36
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