N. Korean leader requests visit by UN secretary general

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has officially requested United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to visit North Korea. North Korea`s Foreign Minister, Ri Su Yong, who is currently attending the 69th UN General Assembly, is said by multiple informants well-versed in UN affairs to have delivered Kim`s letter at a meeting with Ban on Saturday afternoon.

The UN Secretary General’s office announced a news release and said on the day Secretary General Ban received the letter from Kim and expressed gratitude to Lee. However, it did not disclose concrete details of the letter.

North Korea had requested Ban`s visit to North Korea before through a mission to the UN, but this is the first official invitation by Kim Jong Un. Ban has said multiple times that he is willing to visit North Korea for the construction of a peaceful, denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and attention has been drawn to the decision Ban is going to make.

Around the UN, many believe Kim is trying to shake off its isolation from the international community through Ban’s visit to North Korea. If Ban accepts the invitation of North Korea, it would be the first visit by a UN Secretary General to North Korea. In addition, as a Korean, Ban is highly likely to make a significant contribution to inter-Korean relations and key issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula. A UN official said North Korea appears to be more favorably disposed to Ban than any other secretary general in history.

"Ban is highly committed to visiting North Korea and has pushed for a visit there multiple times," South Korean government sources said. "Ban’s visit to North Korea all depends on how he thinks."