(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he will seek an opportunity to visit North Korea in order to mediate progress in inter-Korean relations.
"I have repeatedly expressed my stance that I am ready to take on whatever role it takes as the UN secretary general to promote positive progress in the inter-Korean relations," (Yonhap) news agency quoted Ban as saying in a press conference in Seoul.
"I will seek proper opportunities to discuss with the North Korean authorities and the South Korean government and review the matter of my visit to the North," the secretary general said. Ban said the two Koreas, now in the process of mending ties, should strive to solve their problems through dialogue, adding that he will lend political support from the sidelines.
The former South Korean foreign minister also vowed to extend assistance to South Korea's President Park Geun-hye's efforts to allay long-running confrontation with the North, including her plan to build a peace-promoting park in the tightly guarded military area of the Demilitarize Zone (DMZ).
Regarding Japan's moves to revise its constitution to beef up its military might, Ban called on Japan to search its soul and take a future-orientated perspective in historical disputes with neighboring countries.
"Japanese political leaders need very deep self-examination and vision to foresee the international future in assessing how they should form their awareness of history and how upright history awareness could help facilitate friendly relationships with neighbors," he said.
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