UN chief Ban Ki-moon hopes to visit N. Korea soon

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says on Monday that he is still adjusting the schedule to visit North Korea, but the date is not set yet. He says that he is looking to visit as soon as he could.

He told reporters when he was asked about his plan on visiting North Korea on the same day he paid a visit to the funeral of Korea’s former President Kim Young-sam, who had passed on Sunday.

“It is true that I had discussed the roles of the UN Secretary General when North Korea’s foreign minister Lee Soo Yong visited the UN twice, last year and this year,” the U.N. chief said. This implies that the discussions on visiting the North started when Lee attended the UN General Assembly in last September for the first time in 15 years as the country’s foreign minister. Back then, however, Ban denied that there was any invitation or discussion on visiting the North.