--- description: In his first comment on the matter, the U.N. Secretary-General told South Korean reporters that he was looking to visit North Korea soon title: U.N. Secretary-General Will Try to Visit North Korea Soon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cbc4c889a751d77/69887286a988cac6616b570b/493957890.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The U.N. Secretary-General Says He Will Try to Visit North Korea as Soon as Possible by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 6:18 AM CUT  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits the Empire State Building on Oct. 23, 2015, in New York City U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits the Empire State Building on Oct. 23, 2015, in New York CitySlaven Vlasic—Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 6:18 AM CUT U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [told South Korean reporters](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/11/116%5F191660.html "undefined") 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](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/11/116%5F191660.html "undefined") 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](http://time.com/4114151/un-ban-ki-moon-north-korea-visit/ "undefined") 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](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/23/us-un-northkorea-idUSKBN0TC2JU20151123#PM3KMmqGJVtwXduO.97 "undefined") 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_](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/11/116%5F191660.html "undefined"). Ban was supposed to visit an industrial park in the North earlier in 2015 but the visit was unexpectedly canceled by Pyongyang, Reuters reported. \[[_Korea Times_](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/11/116%5F191660.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4125416/north-korea-ban-ki-moon-un-visit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4125416/north-korea-ban-ki-moon-un-visit/"},"headline":"The U.N. 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