Lee calls for U.N. aid in rebuilding inter-Korean ties

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has requested for
the head of the United Nations to help improve strained inter-Korean ties, a
presidential spokesperson said Saturday.
In a telephone conversation held earlier in the day, Lee made a request to U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the international organization to "contribute
its efforts to improve South-North ties," spokesman Lee Dong-kwan quoted the
president as saying.
Inter-Korean relations have dramatically soured since Lee took office in
February. Lee's conservative government suspended food aid and demanded North
Korea come clean on its nuclear ambitions and human rights conditions in return
for Seoul's assistance.
During the some 10-minute conversation, made at the request of Ban, the secretary
general promised to work "closely" with the South Korean government to help
improve tarnished ties, according to the spokesman.
Ban also praised South Korea's increased role in the effort to fight climate
change, a global food shortage and the current financial crisis.
Lee said his government also plans to increase its role in overseas development
assistance and peace-keeping operations, describing them as "given duties" of the
world's 13th-largest economy, the spokesman said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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