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UN Secretary-General

By Park Hyun and Seong Yeong-cheol, Washington and Beijing correspondents

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is showing signs of taking action to calm tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The UN may try to act as a mediator amid the ongoing North Korean threat now that South Korea, the US, and China have all failed to solve the crisis.

The UN and White House both issued statements on Apr. 5 saying that Ban was scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama at the White House on April 11. It would be the first meeting between the two since late February 2011.

The Korean Peninsula is expected to be on the agenda. The UN said Ban and Obama would be discussing “a broad range of pressing as well as longer-term global issues.” The White House said they would be discussing key issues including the crisis in Syria.

China’s Xinhua news agency and other sources reported that Ban made a phone call to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Apr. 6 to ask for cooperation in relaxing Korean tensions. He was quoted as saying that he was “watching the tense situation closely with a sense of concern” and that he hoped the tensions would be “resolved swiftly so that the situation does not spiral out of control.”

Wang was reported as replying that problems had to be resolved through dialogue in any situation, denuclearization had to be achieved, and peace had to be maintained on the peninsula.

He also affirmed that China was opposed to provocations and “will not tolerate these things happening on China’s doorstep.”

Ban’s move appears to be a response to the lack of any signs of dialogue five months into the tense face-off between South Korea and the US on one side and North Korea on the other. As the UN Secretary-General has a duty to intercede in international disputes, Ban may consider sending a special envoy to Pyongyang.

Ban has been making efforts over the past weeks to achieve a dialogue-based resolution to what he sees as a very serious situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking in Andorra on Apr. 2, he urged an easing of tensions and said the current situation was deteriorating because of a lack of communication, which he said could bring about a situation that no one wants. Two days later in Madrid, he stressed that nuclear threats were “not a game” and “very serious” and called on the relevant authorities to calm the situation and pursue dialogue.

Also factoring into his decision was North Korea’s recommendation on Apr. 5 that all diplomatic officers and international bodies, including the UN, pull out of Pyongyang. Thirty-six UN employees are currently stationed there.

Meanwhile, Kim Jang-soo, head of the Blue House national security office, stressed that Seoul would not be rushing into things.

“We aren’t scared of dialogue, but just because there is a crisis does not mean you hurry into dialogue,” Kim was quoted as saying by Blue House spokesperson Kim Haeng.

He was also reported as saying the South Korean government “sees North Korea as creating anxiety in the South Korean public in an attempt to get the US to send a special envoy or draw arbitration by China and Russia and get a dialogue proposal from South Korea.”

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]