North Korea No-sail zone fuels speculation of missile tests

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Pyongyang is still under consideration and has not been confirmed, the official KCNA news agency said Tuesday.

In May, North Korea had invited Ban to visit a jointly operated factory park in Kaesong, but withdrew the offer at the last minute.

The Chinese government in Beijing is said to be very attentive of the possible visit by Ban, as his visit may open a path to reopening six-party talks on North Korea’s denuclearization, said a China analyst.

Yonhap News cited an unidentified United Nations official as the source of its story, but Mr. Ban’s office did not confirm the visit and South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it was investigating the affair, CNN reported.

South Korea has warned that the North may be preparing to test-fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile following the issuance by Pyongyang of a no-sail zone off its east coast for almost one month.

Reports also say that Ban and Kim will most likely discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

During his tenure as foreign minister, he oversaw a period of intense multinational negotiations aimed at ending the North’s nuclear program.

“The message by the North may be that it is willing to be flexible on the issue”, he said.

No specific time or location has been released, but among the elements of the trip are expected to be a meeting with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, Yonhap reported. “A new series of low-level provocations created to showcase North Korea’s military capabilities without provoking a fullscale war may be in the offing”.

“If Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Pyongyang is realized…it should be of help and assistance to improve the situation on the Korean peninsula, to improve the bilateral relations between the United Nations And the DPRK”, Ri said.

Ban has been mentioned in South Korean media and public opinion polls as a potential candidate in the presidential election scheduled in 2017, but has denied any intention to run.