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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that he is willing to play any role in improving strained inter-Korean relations.
Ban made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
"I am willing to play any role in contributing to bringing North Korea back to dialogue and improving the South-North relations," Ban said.
In May, North Korea called off Ban's visit to an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong.
Ban was scheduled to meet with South Korean business leaders and North Korean workers in the factory park. He would have been the first U.N. chief to visit the complex since its launch in 2004.
Ban's planned visit to Kaesong sparked speculation in South Korea that it could be the beginning of a political campaign ahead of the presidential election slated for December 2017.
Local polls have often ranked Ban, a former foreign minister of South Korea, as one of the most popular possible contenders.
"There was not a word about local politics," Kim said after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Kim said earlier that he is putting the success of his party in the next presidential election ahead of the "issue of whether I would become president."
Kim made the remark during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in New York, even though he said he considers himself "unqualified to be a presidential runner."
"The highest priority is to get the conservative, right-wing Saenuri Party to hold on to power and the issue of whether I would become president is a next question," he said.
Kim, a five-term lawmaker, has seen his popularity surge, especially after he led the party to victory in April's by-elections, with a voter survey putting him ahead of all possible candidates in the next presidential election.
Kim has been on a visit to the U.S. that earlier took him to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with senior U.S. government officials and congressional leaders to talk about North Korea, the alliance between the two countries and other issues.
"As part of parliamentary exchanges, I met with U.S. political leaders," Kim said. "I reaffirmed through the meetings that the U.S. is a staunch ally for us forever."
Kim said the U.S. has been unsuccessful in finding a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.
"As North Korea is refusing dialogue, the U.S. has been unable to find a solution," Kim said. "The U.S. may suggest putting off the issue as the term of President (Barack) Obama is nearing its end. As our burden will be increased in such a case, we have to find a breakthrough."
Kim said U.S. politicians expressed concerns about the strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo, and he told them that it is important for Japan to stop distorting history and resolve historical issues before the two countries move forward. (Yonhap)
