Regretting North Korea's rejection of the United Nations Security Council's resolution asking it dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, the United Nations Secretary-General designate Ban Ki-moon has urged United States to have 'diplomatic' talks with Pyongyang.
"If possible, it would be a good opportunity, the United States has expressed on many occasions that they will be prepared to talk with North Korea if and when they return to six-party talks. I hope North Korea will take this opportunity to discuss all their concerns," he told ABC television network in an interview on Sunday.
Despite China's reservations, Ban said he believes Saturday's resolution imposing sanctions will be fully enforced.
"I'm confident that member states will fully implement this resolution so that there will be no concern. The key to the issue is diplomacy," he said.
He said the North Korean nuclear test is a 'clear threat to international peace and security'.
To a question on Iraq, Ban praised US for what it is attempting to accomplish in Iraq, according to the transcript of the interview posted on ABC News' website.
"America with other members (of the United Nations) "have been making a great contribution to restore peace and stability "to the Iraqi people," he said. "We have a high admiration for all that the United States has been doing. We hope that the Iraqi people will be able to enjoy genuine stability," he added.
In another interview to Newsweek magazine, Ban has said he was prepared to take the initiative to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis by going to Pyongyang and meeting the country's reclusive President Kim Jong-Il, once he assumes charge of the world body's top job.
"If necessary, I will take my own initiative which will include visiting North Korea and meeting with North Korean leaders," he said, in the magazine's latest edition published on Sunday.
Asked if he would meet with President Kim Jong Il, he said, "I hope so. When the secretary-general of the United Nations visits a country, normally he deals with its leaders."
"I think that I would be in a much better position than any other previous secretary-general, as I come from Korea and have experience," said Ban, who is from South Korea.
"I will try to coordinate with the concerned parties," said Ban in the interview given before Saturday's Security Council decision to slap non-military sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear test.
When asked if North Korea, feeling isolated, will pursue a closer alliance with Pakistan and Iran, he said, "There is a concern about the proliferation of materials relating to weapons of mass destruction and nuclear materials and missiles."
Ban noted that North Korea's defiant stand was 'worrisome' and 'shows total disrespect of the United Nations' and asked it not to conduct further tests in response to sanctions.
Considering the economic and political difficulty they are facing, he said, North Korea should have taken a wiser path and should be more realistic - "Why should they take this dangerous and negative action?"
Asked if the US should have held bilateral talks with North Korea previously, Ban, a former foreign minister of South Korea, said Seoul had been asking Washington to do so.
Though the Security Council resolution is primarily on taking sanctions against North Korea, he noted that in the resolution there is a paragraph leaving the door open for North Korea to come to the dialogue table.
"We need a two-pronged approach. While we take a very strong and stern message and deliver it to North Korea, at the same time we need to leave some room for negotiations so as not to escalate the situation," he emphasised.
When pointed out that unlike in the Middle East crisis, the UN was not a party to the six-party talks, Ban said, "I think the UN should always be positively engaged in regional conflicts. When there are certain frameworks for the resolution of regional conflicts, the role of the secretary-general is astutely facilitating such frameworks."
"If the secretary-general sees there are difficulties, then he can take his own initiative by meeting with the leaders of concerned parties or visiting places like the Middle East, Iran or Darfur," he said.
Putting UN reform as 'my top priority', Ban said, "It's frustrating that people talk about the irrelevance of the United Nations. We should change the culture by making the Secretariat more professional, more accountable, more transparent, with a higher level of ethics."
