S Korea seeks to win UN Security Council seat

South Korea has a high chance of winning a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council this week, but it won’t be able to let its guard down in the face of competition from two other Asian nations, officials said Sunday. The United Nations is scheduled to vote on the bid on Thursday, with Cambodia and Bhutan also competing for the single seat assigned to the Asian region, South Korea’s News Agency (Yonhap) reported. South Korean diplomats, including Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, have stepped up efforts in recent months to win the support of UN member states in its bid to return to the council in 2013-2014. The country previously sat on the council in 1996-1997. “The UN Security Council is where the important issues of the world are discussed,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tae-young said in a recent press briefing. “As a middle power with a top 10 economy, we would do our best to play our part in promoting international peace and security, and developing the international community.” The Seoul government has also said the seat would help it reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The UN body is run by five veto-wielding permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — and 10 non-permanent members, who are elected to serve two-year terms. Seoul officials said they believe they have secured the required number of votes-129, or two-thirds of the UN’s 193 member nations, but continue to face competition from Cambodia and Bhutan, who are likely to win the support of other Southeast Asian nations and developing countries.