UN Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday arrived in South Korea on the first leg of a five-nation Asian tour that will also take him to Japan, China, Thailand and Vietnam, amid strained ties between Tokyo and its key neighbors.
Annan's trip to Asia came as the UN chief was seeking support from the region for reforms at the world body and voicing hope that Asia could reconcile as Europe did after World War II.
Accompanied by his wife, Annan smiled and waved to journalists on his arrival at Incheon Airport, but made no comments before heading to his hotel in downtown Seoul.
The top UN diplomat, who steps down after his second five-year term on Dec. 31, wants to see progress in UN reforms, but 191 UN members were still divided over how to reshape the organization.
Asia has its own divisions over its bitter past, with Japan stuck in a diplomatic row with its neighbors South Korea and China.
Beijing and Seoul are outraged by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's annual visits to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors war dead including war criminals, and by Tokyo's approval of nationalist history books.
Ahead of his Asian tour, Annan last week called on Japan and its neighbors to improve relations, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency.
Annan hailed celebrations in Moscow last year marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, which brought together leaders of Germany and its former foes.
Annan was quoted as saying he hoped "a day will come when I would attend a similar event" in Asia.
Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders attended the Moscow ceremony but no event like it took place in Asia.
Expansion of the 15-nation UN Security Council was one of several key reforms of the world body that Annan had hoped to push through.
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