THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: 23-24 OCTOBER
Press Release
SG/T/2154*
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: 23-24 OCTOBER
19981106 Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Seoul, Republic of Korea for his official visit in the evening of Thursday, 22 October. He paid a courtesy call to President Kim Dae-Jung, praising the President as a "dynamic partner for peace" in reference to his open policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and his recent visit to Japan.At this meeting, and at a subsequent luncheon hosted by the President, the two leaders discussed a range of world issues. At the luncheon, the Secretary-General compared the President to South African President Nelson Mandela saying, "You have taken office to promote a process of reconciliation and healing that is the only true foundation for lasting peace and security."
After lunch, the Secretary-General held a press conference at the Hotel Silla.
That evening, the Secretary-General was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize. He accepted the prize in the memory of the more than 1,500 men and women who gave their lives in the cause of peace, during the first 50 years of United Nations peacekeeping. He announced his intention to donate the $200,000 cash award to the United Nations Trust fund for Preventive Diplomacy and Preventive Action. He recalled the unprecedented event 50 years ago of sending soldiers out onto the battlefield "under a new flag and with a new mission: a mission of peace". He added, "The will to peace must exist among the peoples and the parties, but the path to peace is one that we -- the United Nations -- can help pave." The Secretary-General concluded his day by addressing a United Nations Day commemoration dinner hosted by the United Nations Association of Korea. He remarked that politics were both "at the root of globalization's difficulties" and "at the heart of any solutions". The success of globalization depended on its success "for rich and poor alike", he said, and "must be harnessed to the cause not of capital alone, but of development and prosperity for the poorest of the world". On Saturday, 24 October, the Secretary-General met with Ambassador Park Soo Gil, former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He was awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree by Kyung Hee University, and later attended a luncheon hosted by Mr. Hong Soon-Young, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Before departing to New York, he visited the National Folklore Museum. * *** *
* Reissued for technical reasons.