NEW YORK (AA) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a direct message to North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, saying, "refrain from taking any such provocative measures".
Following his meeting with US President Barack Obama, Ban attended a CNN programme where he sent a direct message to North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Korean language.
Upon the question of the presenter, "if you had a chance to talk with Kim directly, what would you say?, and UN Secretary General Ban said, as UN SG and as a citizen of South Korea, he would tell him to solve problems via dialogue.
Ban added, the North Korean leader should focus less on making threats against the US, and more on improving conditions for his own people and stated, "I would strongly ask him to, first of all, refrain from taking any such provocative measures, which is clearly in violation against the Security Council resolution and against the expectation of the international community."
Ban underscored that the people of North Korea struggle because of financial difficulties and that the island needs to unite more has to be done for a permanent peace.
Tension has escalated between North Korea and South Korea following the nuclear tests conducted by North Korea and over its decision to restart operations at the Nyongbyon nuclear facility.
