Ban to Announce Tuesday
A short note… The New York Times and the Asian Age are reporting that Ban Ki Moon will formally announce his candidacy on Tuesday. More to come…
Update: The Korean government made its official announcement this morning, February 14th:
“The government of the Republic of Korea has decided to present Mr. Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, as a candidate for the post of the next secretary-general of the United Nations. We will notify the Security Council of his candidacy, through a letter addressed to its President, once the Council officially commences the election process. “
According to the Korea Times, the Korean government decided last October to nominate Ban, “[b]ut the government has been conducting a ‘low-key’ campaigning as an early announcement of its candidate could trigger mudslinging and harsh media scrutiny.”
With the formal annoucement, Ban responded “I humbly accepted the government’s decision to field me as the candidate for the secretary-general in order to make available South Korea’s services to the development of the United Nations.”
Ban’s candidacy could be seen as a referendum on the international importance of continued negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. Ban has been heavily involved with the six-party talks and is seen as a keen moderator.
On whether a national from a divided nation would be seen as a qualified candidate, Ban responded, “Some people have even told me that it would be better to have somebody who has been in the middle of those kinds of complex issues, who will have to deal with the complex issues that the United Nations is facing.”