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UN chief hopes to bring DPRK back to denuclearization

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-15 11:46

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday called on the international community, especially participants of six-part talks on Korean Peninsula, to step up efforts to bring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) back on the right track of denuclearization.

Ban made the remarks in an address to a model UN conference held by the UN Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) in the UN headquarters Thursday evening.

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In response to a question on how to encourage stability in the Korean Peninsula, Ban said he himself, as a South Korean, is "much more concerned than anybody else in the world" on the issue.

"I feel very troubled that we have not been able to reunify even after some 60 years of our independence," Ban told students from the United States and some other countries in the world.

He said the situation between South Korea and the DPRK, and that in the Korean Peninsula, has been "very much deteriorated" since early April.

Last month, the Security Council condemned DPRK's launch of what the United States and Japan said was a long-range missile while the DPRK insisted was a rocket carrying a peaceful satellite.

The Security Council called for tougher enforcement of UN financial sanctions and a limited trade embargo against Pyongyang.

Pyongyang then announced it would boycott the six-party talks, and promise to restart a nuclear plant.

File Photo: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, seen here addressing an informal session May 4, has called for the internatinal community to bring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea back on the right track of denuclearization. [Agencies]

"I sincerely hope that the participants in the six-party talks can do their utmost diplomatic efforts so that denuclearization programs of North Korea would get on the right track," Ban said.

The six-party talks are a multilateral mechanism set up in 2003 aimed at the denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula. Besides the DPRK and South Korea, the talks also include China, the United States, Russia and Japan.

The secretary-general said the regional security issue and the non proliferation of nuclear materials and nuclear weapons are the two important dimensions which the international community led by the United Nations should address.

Noting that the cooperative relationship between South Korea and the DPRK "has progressed significantly until just a few months ago before it was abruptly cut off by all these political reasons, " Ban said he hopes the two sides could resume bilateral ties through exchange, cooperation and dialogue.

"That is the only way which we can see peace and security in the Korean Peninsula," he said.

He said he will do his best to open up the channel of communication with the DPRK, so that he can coordinate with UN members, particularly members of the six-party talks, to contribute to the peace and stability, and exchange and cooperation in the Korean Peninsula.