UN under-secretary-general for political affairs to visit DPRK

Jeffrey Feltman, the United Nations under-secretary-general for political affairs, will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from Tuesday to Friday, the United Nations said on Monday.

Feltman will meet with DPRK officials to discuss "issues of mutual interest and concern," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the daily news briefing.

"He will also meet with the United Nations Country Team and members of the diplomatic corps, as well as visit UN project sites," said the spokesman, adding that "Mr. Feltman is also visiting China while in the region."

The visit was first raised in September, but was finally confirmed on Nov. 30, Dujarric said.

Shortly after the DPRK's ballistic missile launch on Nov. 29, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting and called for all measures possible to prevent escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula.

As the United States and South Korean air forces conducted their biggest-ever joint military drill, the DPRK on Monday warned the United States that it was pushing the two countries to the "brink of nuclear war."

"Given the grave risks associated with any military confrontation, in exercise of its primary responsibility the Security Council needs to do all it can to prevent an escalation," Feltman said at the emergency meeting.

Addressing the Security Council meeting, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the top priority in view of the current "grave situation" was for all parties to exercise restraint, implement UN sanctions, and strive for early resumption of dialogue and negotiations

Source: XINHUA