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Ban Ki-Moon vows to defuse tensions

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, favourite to succeed Kofi Annan as the United Nations Secretary-General, said on Friday he would strive for peace in the Korean peninsula in the context of Pyongyang's intention to test a nuclear weapon.

Now in South Korea, Mr. Ban indicated his preference for a hands-on approach towards North Korea.

Speculation is gaining currency that Mr. Ban might try to put the inter-Korean ethnic links to some good effect. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had recently said Seoul would be able to firm up military-related confidence-building measures only if the U.S. were to make a gesture. He said Washington must transfer to Seoul the burden of "wartime control" over Korean troops.

Neighbours clueless

Mr. Roh feels that the outbreak of a war is not a precondition for Seoul gaining "wartime control" over its own troops. With North Korea's neighbours remaining clueless about whether and when Pyongyang might detonate a nuclear weapon, diplomatic efforts to preventing such a test intensified in the East Asian capitals.

South Korean Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung held a telephonic talk with his U.S. counterpart Donald Rumsfeld on Friday. The official word in Seoul was that the two had agreed to make "concerted efforts" to pull North Korea from the brink.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, scheduled to visit China and South Korea, is expected to discuss the issue as a priority agenda. Pyongyang might opt for the test on Sunday, the ninth anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's rise to power.

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in Tokyo on Friday that he did not think a test was so imminent.

At the United Nations, China suggested that North Korea should adopt a "constructive" approach and the U.S. could be "creative" in dealing with the issue.

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