UN chief supports Park's DMZ peace park plan

By Park Sae-jin Posted : August 26, 2013, 17:28 Updated : August 26, 2013, 17:28
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday pledged to extend support for South Korean President Park Geun-hye's idea of establishing a peace park in the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone if progress is made between the two Koreas with regard to the plan.

"I told President Park that the United Nations will actively provide assistance to her efforts to create a peace zone in the DMZ if the Koreas make headway in talks on the matter," Ban said in a news conference in Seoul.

He said the United Nations has already begun to find ways to assist the DMZ peace park proposal, and internal discussions are already underway on legal, political and institutional sectors.

Ban said the United Nations will hold close consultations with South Korea on details of the plan.

When asked about his possible visit to North Korea, the U.N. chief said he has repeatedly expressed his wish to travel to the communist state in order to mediate progress in inter-Korean relations.

"My position remains unchanged. I, as U.N. chief, is ready to play any role" to help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, said Ban, former South Korean foreign minister.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty.

The secretary-general, taking leave from the United Nations, arrived in his home country Aug. 22 to attend the opening ceremony of the World Rowing Championships.

During his six-day stay, he met President Park, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee, and attend a dinner hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se.

As to a diplomatic row over historical issues between South Korea and Japan, and China and Japan, the secretary-general called on (Japanese) political leaders to have a correct understanding of history and resolve them in a future-oriented manner.

He also criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's move to reinterpret Japan's constitution to permit the country to exercise the right of collective self-defense.

On the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians, Ban said a U.N. team will begin on-site investigation of the allegations.

The use of weapons of mass destruction, if proven, is an "outrageous crime against humanity," he said.
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