By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 5, video at UN here -- When World Bank president Jim Yong Kim showed up on the public schedule of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for Tuesday at 5:30, there was no photo op.
It seemed strange, and Inner City Press and another member of the Free UN Coalition for Access made inquiries.
When Jim Kim and a small entourage went into the Security Council mid-afternoon, to meet this month's Council president Kim Sook of South Korea, Inner City Press tweeted it, including questioning why no photo op with Ban. If you've got it, flaunt it, seemed to be and was the advice.
Meanwhile at the noon briefing and again outside the Security Council in the UN basement, Inner City Press asked about the morning's North Korean video, of a young man dreaming and a missile flying, an American flag in flames. "We are the World" was the sound track, and some video game footage was used.
That led to copyright problems, and by mid afternoon several copies had come down. Ban Ki-moon's spokesman told Inner City Press Ban had not seen the movie. The same seemed to be the case in the Security Council.
Finally it was announced that there'd be a photo op of Ban Ki-moon and Jim Kim.
Upstairs on the 38th floor, though Ban's deputy spokesman was there, very little was said while Inner City Press and the FUNCA colleague were there. The two men greeted each other in Korean, thenassumed different sides of the long conference table.
Inner City Press YouTube video here.
In the room with Team Ban was his post-2015 specialist, his chief of staff Susana Malcorra, his deputy Jan Eliasson, Bob Orr the corporate and Korean powerhouse, among others.
As of 7 pm there was no readout. We'll try not to read into, as the spokesman told Inner City Press about the lack of a readout for Ban's February 4 meeting with Madagascar's leader. But why not read this one out? Watch this site.
