2 January 2015 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Park Geun-hye, discussed the country’s continued support for the work of the United Nations amid wider efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula in a phone call on New Year’s Day.

 

During yesterday’s conversation, Mr. Ban said he appreciated the President’s commitment to building peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through inter-Korean dialogue and took note of the positive response of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

 

In addition, he reaffirmed his readiness to provide any support, as appropriate, in facilitating peace and stability in the region in close coordination with the concerned countries, according to a read-out of the phone call provided by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

 

Mr. Ban also noted that 2015 would mark the 70th anniversaries of both the founding of the UN and the ROK’s independence and commended the country’s active contribution to the UN’s work, including through global efforts to address climate change and in the fight against Ebola.

 

He told Ms. Park that he looked forward to the ROK’s leadership in forging a meaningful agreement on climate change, as well as the achievement of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals and the shaping of the post-2015 development agenda.

 

Earlier this week, Mr. Ban welcomed an ROK proposal to kick-start a high-level dialogue with DPRK in an effort to thaw relations between the two countries.

 

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