By Xinhua,
Seoul : United Nations Secretary-General BanKi-moon will begin a five-day trip to South Korea later this week at the invitation of the country’s government, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
It will be Ban’s first trip to his homeland since he took over the top UN job last year.
Ban and his wife, who are now in China as part of their regional tour, are scheduled to arrive here on Thursday afternoon, ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.
Ban, formerly South Korea’s foreign minister, plans to pay a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak on Friday, hours after meeting with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, he said.
The secretary-general and the top South Korean officials are to discuss ways of bolstering cooperation between the country and the international organization, with pending regional and international issues also on the agenda, Moon said.
On Saturday, Ban will travel to his hometown of Eumseong, NorthChungcheong Province, some 130 km south of Seoul and a nearby city of Cheongju, where he attended a high school.
“Secretary-General Ban’s trip is expected to help further solidify cooperative ties between South Korea and the United Nations,” Moon said.
Ban will then attend the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in the northern Japanese resort of Toyako.