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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife get off a plane at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was full of emotion as he arrived at Seoul Airport at 1:02 p.m. on Wednesday and introduced himself to the waiting crowd. "I'm so happy as I visit Korea and greet my fellow Koreans for the first time since my inauguration as UN chief 18 months ago last January," he said.
¡ß Arrival, meeting with astronaut Yi
Ban and his wife were greeted by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo upon disembarking. He shook hands with the welcoming audience as he walked the red carpet, a 19-gun salute firing in the background. "I should have visited home earlier, but I had urgent global issues to tend to in the past year," he said to reporters gathered on the airstrip. "I'm sorry for my late visit but it's meaningful to visit at a time when the new government has launched and progress has been made in the nuclear issue." As a Korean and the UN head, Ban vowed to do his best to help Korea advance.
Arriving at his lodgings at the Grand Hyatt Hotel around 1:20 p.m., Ban met with astronaut Yi So-yeon and troops who will be dispatched to the Dongmyeong Unit as members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
"Korea was able to rise from ruins and advance as far as we have thanks to the help of the UN, so we should give back to the international community," Ban said to the soldiers. "As Secretary-General of the UN, I hope Korea can participate more in UN peacekeeping operations."
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks with Korea's first astronaut Yi So-yeon as she returns a UN flag to him in a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on Thursday. /Newsis
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In the meeting with Yi, the astronaut returned to Ban a UN flag that she had used in a performance to promote Korean-UN friendship aboard the International Space Station in April. Printed on Korea's location on the UN flag's map was an ISS stamp. "I share a special tie with Yi. I was also in Russia on the day her spacecraft launched into space, and I watched the launch on TV. I remember Russians saying that the day was a joyous occasion because of the two Koreans." In addition to the flag, Yi gave Ban a photo of her crew including the signatures of the Russian astronauts. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yi said, "(Ban) seems quite stern with his work, but in person he is so kind. It's such an honor."
¡ß Speaking at alma mater
Ban next visited his alma mater Seoul National University where he was given an honorary doctoral degree in diplomacy. In a speech entitled "A Stronger UN for a Better World", he told students that as future leaders they should not fear change but embrace it in order to change the world and change our fate. The four great challenges facing the world -- climate change, the food and energy shortage, human rights violations and the threat of terrorism -- have jeopardized global solidarity, he said, but we must not cower before the daunting tasks. He urged students to consider working at a global agency like the UN as they will be on the world stage with a heartfelt mission and enjoy infinite reward despite numerous frustrations.
During his stay, Ban will meet with President Lee Myung-bak, the prime minister and the foreign and unification ministers to discuss Korea-UN cooperation in climate, food and development issues. He will also touch on the North Korean nuclear issue and South Korea's dispatch of troops to the PKO mission in Darfur, Sudan.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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