South Korean nominated to lead UN
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council yesterday formally nominated Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon of South Korea to succeed Kofi Annan as UN secretary general, all but assuring that the quiet diplomat will become the eighth chief in the world body's 61-year history.
What would have been an event of major significance -- Ban will become one of the world's best known and most influential diplomats over his five-year term -- was overshadowed by North Korea's assertion that it had conducted a nuclear test.
``This should be a moment of joy. But instead, I stand here with a very heavy heart," Ban said at a news conference in Seoul. ``Despite the concerted warning from the international community, North Korea has gone ahead with a nuclear test."
Ban, who participated in six-party talks with the North in 2005, vowed to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis after he becomes secretary general. He must be approved by the 192-nation General Assembly, which has never rejected a Security Council nomination.
Japan's UN ambassador, Kenzo Oshima, asked the General Assembly to act promptly to give final approval to Ban so that he can have a sufficient transition before taking over as UN chief Jan. 1, after Annan's second five-year term ends.
``I think the fact that the candidate is currently foreign minister of the Republic of Korea is an asset in dealing with the situation in the Korean peninsula that we are now facing," he said.
Some diplomats speculated that North Korea may have conducted the test when it did partly to signal its disapproval for Ban. The North has not publicly commented on his bid but has accused him of blindly following the US line by urging the North to resume negotiations and give up the atomic weapons program.
Normally the 15-member council would vote on a nomination, but Britain's ambassador, Emyr Jones-Parry, suggested in yesterday's meeting that Ban be approved by acclamation, done when there are no dissenting votes. The idea was greeted with applause from the other ambassadors, said diplomats who attended the meeting .
Unlike previous years, Ban's selection was marked by an absence of political infighting. He was the front runner in all four informal polls the Security Council conducted, never getting fewer than 13 votes in favor of his candidacy.
The final straw poll last week indicated he had the support of all five veto-wielding members of the council, and the remaining five candidates quickly left the race.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that Ban ``is the right choice to lead the United Nations at this pivotal time in its history." US Ambassador John Bolton called Ban's selection ``a very significant event." 