Kofi Annan to visit South Korea, China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-30 17:03

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will visit South Korea in early December as part of his Asian trip that will also include China, Japan and Vietnam, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.

"The UN secretary-general will visit South Korea along with his wife at the invitation of our government. He is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Roh Moo-hyun during his trip," Ban said earlier Wednesday at a press briefing.

"I will also have one-on-one talks with him on the issue of UN reform and South Korea's contribution to the UN," added Ban.

The trip will also take Annan to Hong Kong, where he will attend a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization called to discuss global trade liberalization, Ban said.

Annan's three-day trips here will start from December 7, according to a rough schedule distributed by the Foreign Ministry.

It will be Annan's first visit to South Korea since 1998.