UN chief mulls visiting DPRK amid easing tensions on Korean Peninsula

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UN chief mulls visiting DPRK amid easing tensions on Korean Peninsula

(Xinhua) 15:23, August 26, 2013

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SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he is mulling his visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) amid easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"I'll review visiting North Korea (DPRK) at a proper time after consulting with the North Korean authorities and the South Korean government," Ban told a press conference at the Foreign Ministry's headquarters. The UN chief arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a six-day trip to his home country.

Ban said that inter-Korean relations were in the process of making progress, citing agreements between Seoul and Pyongyang to reopen the joint industrial complex in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong and to hold reunion of families separated by the Korean War (1950-53).

The UN chief stressed that he will do "whatever he can" for a constructive development of inter-Korean relations, noting that parties concerned should first seek to solve problems on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue.

On Aug. 14, the two Koreas reached an agreement to normalize the Kaesong factory park that had been halted for more than four months by agreeing on joint efforts to prevent recurrence of unilateral shutdown of the park in the future.

Nine days later, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to hold the family reunion at the scenic resort in Mount Kumgang for six days from Sept. 25, while opening the door for negotiations on resuming the suspended tour to Mount Kumgang.

Touching on the Syrian crisis, the UN chief reiterated his position that a full and thorough investigation by the UN inspection team should be allowed to find facts behind the truths.

On Aug. 21, Syrian opposition claimed 1,300 people were killed in a government chemical weapons attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus, the Syrian capital. The Syrian government denied the allegation.

Following weekend talks in Syria between UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane and top Syrian government officials, the UN chemical investigation team was allowed to begin conducting on-site fact-finding activities on Aug. 26.

"If proven any use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances, it's a serious violation of international law and an outrageous crime," Ban said. "We cannot allow impunity in what appears to be a grave crime against humanity."

The Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011 between government forces and armed opposition seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad has led to killings of more than 93,000 people and forced more than 1.7 million people to flee the country.

（Editor：LiangJun、Zhang Qian）