Ex-U.N. chief Ban voices need to ‘persuade’ China to understand benefit of Koreas’ unification

ormer U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday South Korea needs to continuously "persuade" China to understand that the two Koreas' unification will not only contribute to global peace but also serve its own interests. Ban made the remarks during the Global Korea Forum (GKF), a global forum hosted by the unification ministry and designed to garner international support for South Korea's bid for peaceful unification. "It is strategically vital to convince China and Japan that unification will significantly contribute to global peace and will be beneficial for them as well," Ban said in his keynote speech. The former diplomat also emphasized the need for South Korean officials to persuade the Chinese government that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is not adversarial and will ultimately benefit peace and stability in the region. The forum aligns with a new unification doctrine announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month, which focuses on expanding North Koreans' access to external information and proposes establishing an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss various issues. Later in the day, Ri Il-gyu, a former counselor of political affairs at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, will participate in a session discussing the situation in North Korea. Ri, a seasoned North Korean diplomat known for overseeing Cuban affairs, defected to South Korea with his family in November of last year. The forum, themed "Unified Korean Peninsula for Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity," is an expanded version of an annual event that focuses on security and policy issues related to the Korean Peninsula. Source: Yonhap News Agency