On North Korea Launch, UNSC Meeting "In Pipeline," Ban Visit Less Sure

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 22  -- When Yonhap reported that North Korea had fired another missile on June 21, the UN's email system had been down for five hours. How could Ban Ki-moon speak? Some mused, the South Korean mission. But they deny it, see below.


On June 22 UN Security Council president Francois Delattre of France stopped and said a meeting on the launch(es) is “in the pipeline” for the afternoon and that he'd like to see a Press Statement. Periscope video here.

Minutes earlier, Russian's deputy has said “Not yet,” and Spain's Permanent Representative, chair of the North Korea sanctions committee, had said “we have no meeting yet.”

   While it's now said Ban may travel to Cuba for a Colombia - FARC signing, Ban's desire to visit North Korea, seen as helpful to running for South Korean president, is problematized. Will the US, Japan and other want Ban to go at this time? Or in the next six months?

  When Ban Ki-moon wrapped up his five day campaign trip in South Korea with a three-question "press conference" at the UN's DPI-NGO conference, he criticized "coverage of what was supposed to be off-the-record meeting with the Kwanhoon Club" of political correspondents.

Even during Ban's long visit to South Korea, Inner City Press in New York where it has been evicted from its long time shared UN office and confined to minders, told not to question diplomats asked the UN why no transcript was provided of Ban's session with the Kwanhoon Club. It asked again on June 10, the day after Ban himself called such questions "undue."

On June 16, as Inner City Press continued to ask Ban's spokesman Dujarric about Ban's role in retaliation - and Dujarric refused to answer - it was told by other sources that the South Korean mission has come out defending its role in promoting meetings for Ban with South Korea political figures, defending its travel with Ban and specifically denying the Mission wrote speeches for Ban.

On June 18 the South Korean Mission's spokesperson told Inner City Press the "note" was provided to the Office of Ban Ki-moon's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric upon request. See below. On June 20, Inner City Press asked Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq about it, and about North Korea's "invitation" to Ban. Video here. UN Transcript here:

 Inner City Press:  I'd asked Stéphane on… on Friday about a note that was put out by the South Korean mission, and he'd ended the exchange by saying:  "Ask them."  So, I did.  And one of the things I asked them is… is how this note was prepared or… or how it was that what Stéphane read here was almost identical to the note from the mission.  And they've responded.  Their Deputy Spokesman had said that the note was provided to the SG's office and the UN's Deputy Spokesman's office at their request.  I guess I'm just wondering, since the attempt was made to sort of say, this is totally separate; we don't coordinate speeches, remarks…

Deputy Spokesman:  And we don't.

Inner City Press:  So what was the purp-… in what context did your office request this note from the South Korean mission and…?

Deputy Spokesman:  We… it's because you asked at these briefings, so you asked Stéphane.  And as a result of you asking Stéphane, he asked the mission what they were saying.  We wanted to know because…

Inner City Press:  The reason I ask, what he read out, before I'd asked, before I had any chance to ask the question was identical to the note so it seems like…

Deputy Spokesman:  No, I would doubt that, because, ultimately, what Stéphane wanted to do is know what they were telling you.  You know, obviously, once they gave us what they told you, we took note of that, and so we have that now.  But, it was in response to the fact that you were asking about it.

Inner City Press:  So, it was after Friday's Noon Briefing.

Deputy Spokesman:  It was after whenever you asked.  I mean, you've asked a couple times about this.

Inner City Presst:  No, I asked about the note on Friday. ...Last week the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] said that they'd sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon, which is interpreted by people as an invitation to visit, and I think as of that time you said you hadn't seen it.  Has it now… has this letter been received?  And what do you say to various commentators who say Ban Ki-moon would benefit… this is a direct quote… “enhance his political position as a future Presidential candidate by making such a visit”?

Deputy Spokesman:  We don't have any visit to announce.

Inner City Press:  Do you have the letter?

Deputy Spokesman:  I believe the letter has been received.