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South Korean FM to run for top post of UN
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-02-14 11:43
South Korean government made clear Tuesday that its Foreign Minister Ban
Ki-moon will run for the post of secretary general of the United Nations.
"We will notify the Security Council of his candidacy through a letter
addressed to its president once the council officially commences the election
process," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement read by Vice
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon (L)
meets U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations in New York
in this January 18, 2006 file photo. Ban will run for the post of U.N.
secretary-general, the ministry said on February 14, 2006, becoming one of
the few declared candidates to succeed
Annan.[Reuters/file] | It is the first time for a
South Korean to attend the race of the UN secretary general.
Ban, 61, is a career diplomat with 36 years of service and he also has
extensive experience at the UN.
He was tapped by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun as Seoul's top diplomat
in February 2004.
South Korea's announcement came as the campaign for the post is moving into
high gear, with current Secretary General Kofi Annan's second five-year term
nearing an end.
Annan's term will be ended at the end of this year, and his successor is
expected to be chosen in the fall.
Up to now, Sri Lanka has named diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala and Thailand named
Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to run for the
post.
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