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At 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday, a black bulletproof limo started toward the East River from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on 50th Street in Manhattan, New York carrying a Korean man wearing a thick coat against the cold winter weather. At the gate of the UN Secretariat 10 minutes later, he got out of the car, to be greeted by a blizzard of camera flashes as photographers jostled to capture his first day as the eighth UN secretary-general. Former Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-moon, who took up his post on Tuesday, thanked the Korean people for supporting him and vowed to do his best to improve Korea¡¯s status in the international community as the first Korean UN chief. Then he took the elevator to his office on the 38th floor.
It was a busy first day. After being welcomed by UN staff and senior officials, Ban met with UN Security Council Chairman Vitaly Churkin. The Security Council is the most powerful organization in the U.N. In the afternoon, the new U.N. chief toured offices to meet and encourage staff. He is no stranger here, since he once worked as chef-de-cabinet to president of the General Assembly Han Seung-soo in 2001. Ban looked filled with emotions when he returned to take the helm of the world body, his aides said.
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In this handout photo released by the United Nations, the new United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, addresses his first meeting with staff on his first official day of work at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday./AP
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Ban has 36 years as a career diplomat under his belt. His mission in the new job is to work for world peace and protect human rights. He will have to tackle international conflicts and overhaul the UN¡¯s often ineffective organization. In a recent press conference, Ban cited the Middle East conflict and genocide in Darfur as the most urgent tasks. He must also address the North Korean nuclear crisis and conflict in Somalia after a week of fighting between Somali Islamists and interim government forces backed by Ethiopia.
UN insiders say he has a rough road ahead as the U.S. is pushing for UN reform and Japan and Germany seek permanent seats on the Security Council. As a first step toward reform, Ban appointed Vijay Nambiar, the special advisor to Ban¡¯s predecessor Kofi Annan, as his chef de cabinet. He selected Michelle Montas, a Haitian journalist, as UN spokeswoman and plans to appoint a woman from a developing country as deputy secretary-general. Elected to represent the interests of 192 UN member nations, he has selected his aides from different parts of the world. The Associated Press said the appointment ¡°marks a milestone for South Korea which only joined the United Nations in 1991 and still has UN troops on the tense border with North Korea.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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