The Marmot’s Hole

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon apparently has North Korea’s support for a run at UN general secretary, reports Yonhap. In a phone conversation, North Korea’s vice ambassador to the UN, Han Song-nyol, said he though it would be good for Ban to become UN general secretary since he was “of the same minjok (race/ethnic group).”
Asked if this was an official statement of support, Han said, “It would be hard to call it official support, but our intention is implied in my statement.” He added, “It seems Ban is receiving good-will from a lot of non-aligned nations as well. We look forward to a good result.”
Asked, however, whether Ban could meet with North Korean ambassador Park Kil-yon when the former visits the UN, Han said there’d be no reason why not, but he was unsure if it would be proper diplomatic protocol for Ban, who heads his nation’s foreign ministry, to meet with a UN ambassador.