Ban Ki-moon, Interview with CNN

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said in an interview with CNN on August 21, “Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, seemed to have made a strategic decision on the nuclear issue.”

Minister Ban visited Washington to coordinate foreign policies toward North Korea between South Korea and the U.S. Asked whether the possibility that the six-way talks can produce substantial agreement, he replied that he is “more or less” optimistic.

Ban added that North Korea repeatedly pointed out through the six-party talks in Beijing and the recent inter-Korean talks, “Denuclearization is not only the last instruction left by Kim Il Sung, but also the will of the senior leadership of North Korea.”

He added, “If North Korea wins the trust of the international community by dismantling all of its nuclear weapons, returning to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and abiding by all regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it will have a chance to use nuclear power for peaceful purpose. Close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. on this issue is needed.”