President Park Geun-hye may have a chance to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the East Asia Summit (EAS) to be held in Myanmar next week, sources said Wednesday, amid burgeoning media speculation on Ban’s potential presidential ambitions.
The U.N. chief plans to attend the EAS scheduled for Nov. 12-13 in Myanmar’s capital of Nay Pyi Taw at a special invitation by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes major members of the EAS. It is rare for a U.N. chief to attend the Asian regional summit.
During the two-day run, Ban plans to hold a U.N.-ASEAN summit and brief the heads of the 18 member states of the EAS on current international affairs, according to the sources.
Ban’s EAS attendance also creates the chance of a possible meeting with President Park, who is planning to attend the regional summit as an EAS member, according to the sources.
The possible encounter may draw intensive South Korean media attention as it would come amidst heated speculation on the former South Korean foreign minister’s potential bid for presidency in the
2017 election.
“For now, (Ban) has no planned schedule to meet with President Park,” one source noted. “They are likely to meet up naturally during and on the sidelines of the summit meeting.”
Currently, Ban is cited as the most favored among potential presidential candidates in local polls, with the two major political parties here claiming that Ban will run on their ticket in the next presidential election.
The Park-Ban encounter, if it takes place, may focus on the latest presidential ambition speculation surrounding the high-profile former South Korean official.
They last met in late September in New York when Park was attending the U.N. General Assembly.
As such speculation has made major news headlines in South Korea, Ban’s U.N. office disavowed his presidential ambitions a day earlier in a statement issued through the South Korean mission to the U.N.
“Some politicians and media have been carrying reports suggesting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s interest in future domestic politics,” the statement said. “But Secretary-General Ban makes it clear that he knows nothing at all (about these reports), and they are not true.” (Yonhap)
