The U.N. Secretary-General Says He Will Try to Visit North Korea as Soon as Possible

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told South Korean reporters in New York City on Monday that he was looking to visit North Korea as soon as he could.

Ban, a former South Korean Foreign Minister, said that he had had “positive” interactions with Pyongyang but a date for a visit had yet to be set, according to the Korea Times.

It is reportedly the first time the Secretary-General has commented on the matter, although there have been previous indications that that he would visit the North in mid-November.

The meeting would likely touch on issues like the U.N.’s sanctions against the country as well as the North’s nuclear program, Reuters says.

“I do not believe arranging the visit will be easy, and since there are many sensitive issues involved, it requires patience,” he said, according to the Korea Times.

Ban was supposed to visit an industrial park in the North earlier in 2015 but the visit was unexpectedly canceled by Pyongyang, Reuters reported.

[Korea Times]