YONHAP NEWS

(Yonhap Interview) UN chief defends "quiet diplomacy," urges continued reform

NEW YORK, June 27 (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has faced some cutting criticism about his low-profile leadership but defended his "quiet diplomacy" and achievements firmly half way through his five-year term.

Dealing with an array of global crises, Ban said he "humbly accepts" critical input, but emphasized in a special interview with Yonhap News Agency in his New York office on Thursday that the U.N. functions in a very different manner to a single government.

"Expectations of the U.N. are rightly high at a time of many global crises, and where problems are not resolved smoothly, frustration runs just as high as expectation," the soft-spoken former South Korean foreign minister said.

   The U.N. is grappling with what Ban calls the "Four F" crises -- fuel, food, finance, and flu -- in addition to unrelenting regional conflicts, global warming, poverty in underdeveloped nations, and the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues.

   People tend to believe that the U.N., with a 15-member Security Council and diverse opinions among the 192 member nations, can present immediate solutions to such matters, Ban said.

   As the head of the U.N., "I humbly accept any evaluation of me," he said. "But those (global) problems can't be solved by one person. All the member states need to cooperate," Ban said in the interview conducted in Korean.

   He is said to be more diligent and hard working than any of his predecessors but has also faced criticism that he has been too low-profile and too uncharismatic to lead in these difficult times.

   While accepting negative assessments, mainly by some Western media, he defended his leadership style, stressing the unique characteristics of the U.N.

   "Countries involved in regional conflicts have very different backgrounds and understandings. There are many cases in which the U.N. can't intervene," he said. "I make statements as strong as possible on issues that have to do with universal values, including human rights and sovereignty."

   He said he has issued 22 "considerably strong" statements on the conflict in Sri Lanka and flew to Myanmar when it was devastated by a cyclone to call for its military junta to open up to international food aid, which eventually saved the lives of half a million people there.

   "There are things that only a U.N. secretary general can do," said Ban.

   During a trip to Gaza, as he saw the damage resulting from Israeli attacks, he strongly pressed for a ceasefire, Ban said, refuting criticism that he kept his head down on the conflict.

   Ban said there could be a wide gap between the largely Western culture at the U.N. and his Asian-style leadership. He is the second Asian to serve as the U.N. chief following U Thant of Myanmar, who was the U.N.' s third secretary general from 1961 to 1971.

   Ban also said he will press ahead with U.N. reform measures despite an internal backlash.

   "I have pushed for reform passionately for the past two and a half years. There will be resistance in the process. I think it is a temporary pain," he said.

   U.N. officials are now required to undergo annual performance evaluations and disclose their financial assets. Though unpopular within the U.N. headquarters in New York, the move has been lauded by many U.N. observers, he said.

   "But there is still a long way to go," Ban said.

   Some view criticism of Ban as a result of opposition to his reform drive or an attempt to block him being re-elected to a second term.

   Ban would not comment on such speculation. "It is not a matter I can talk about," he said, only saying re-election was not his concern.

   On North Korea, the secretary-general reiterated his calls for dialogue between North Korea and the United States and reconciliation between the two Koreas.

   "It is a matter of great concern that North Korea is taking a defiant attitude despite the adoption of the U.N. Security Council resolution (against its nuclear test on May 25)," he said.

   "The U.N. is making its own efforts (to help break the deadlock) as North Korea keeps the door to dialogue closed. But it is likely to take some time."

   lcd@yna.co.kr
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