MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Ban Ki-moon has announced that North Korea had cancelled its earlier permission for the UN Secretary General to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the UN chief's spokesman has said.
"Early this morning, the authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea informed us, through their diplomatic channels, that they were reversing their decision for me to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex", Stephane Dujarric quoted the UN Secretary General as saying at a seminar in Seoul, as cited by AFP on Wednesday.
The UN Secretary General announced on Tuesday that on May 21 he would visit the Kaesong complex – a special economic zone on the inter-Korean border which is jointly run by North and South Korea.
Ban Ki-moon said he hoped his visit – the first of a UN chief to the secluded North Korea over the past 20 years — could contribute to the easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North and South Korea are technically in a state of war, as no formal peace treaty has been signed following the 1950-1953 Korean War.
