The Reinvention of Ban Ki-Moon

He seems to have concluded that he needs to put some distance between himself and his comrades in the ruling party.  The first of two stories is this remarkable statement, timed just before Seoul is expected to abstain from yet another UN resolution on human rights in the North.

UN secretary-general-designate Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for a “more proactive position” from Seoul on North Korea’s human rights issues. Ban said the international community “has great expectations in that regard, despite the special circumstances the nation is facing on the Korean Peninsula. The outgoing foreign minister made the remarks when asked about a fresh EU resolution calling for the UN Secretariat to investigate abuses in the Stalinist country, which the general Assembly is to vote on at the end of the week. South Korea has an unbroken record of abstention or absenteeism at such UN votes.

That call could be interpreted as a call for Seoul not to abstain this year.  Either way, it’s a remarkable act of dissent coming from one of the key architects of the Sunshine Policy, and a man who had been serving as South Korea’s Foreign Minister just last week.

Not convinced yet?  Well, me neither, but here’s a little more.  This is Ban last weekend, paying his respects to U.N. troops killed during the Korean War at the U.N. cemetery in Busan.  Can anyone recall the last time Roh Moo Hyun did something like that?  Whether Ban timed his visit to coincide with the U.S. Veterans’ Day holiday is questionable; Ban was on his way to New York to take up his new job as General Secretary. 

These gestures don’t necessarily break down my skepticism about Ban, but they give me pause enough to keep my mind open a while longer.  How he responds to the food and nuclear crises will probably be the deciding factors.