UN chief arrives in Republic of Korea after visiting Japan

The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Republic of Korea's capital, Seoul, after a three-day visit to Japan, where he said he had drawn inspiration from Japanese people's resilience in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident that struck the country in March.

Mr. Ban said he was impressed by the people of Japan's determination to share the lessons they had learned when responding to the triple disasters.

Before leaving Tokyo, Mr. Ban met with Japan's Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, and expressed his gratitude to the Japanese Government for its support of United Nations field missions and for enhancing the capacity of peacekeepers, including assistance to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The Secretary-General reiterated his request to Japan to consider providing engineers to the new peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He also expressed his gratitude for the work of the Security Council Working Group in the course of Japan's 2009-2011 chairmanship.

Mr. Ban will spend the next six days in the Republic of Korea, where he will tomorrow address the country's Global Compact group, which brings together businesses to support the work of the UN and foster corporate good governance. Mr. Ban will also speak at the opening of the UN Academic Impact Forum, a grouping of academics from more than 100 countries.

The Secretary-General will also meet with the Speaker of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly and its Working Group on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and he is due to meet with President Lee Myung-bak.