Ban Ki-moon urges DPRK to return to six-party talks

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon makes a speech at the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki, May 26, 2009. Ban Ki-moon is on a two-day official visit to Finland.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)     HELSINKI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the latest nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), urging the DPRK to stop testing nuclear weapons and return to the six-party talks as soon as possible.     After meeting with Finnish President Tarja Halonen during his visit here, Ban said he sincerely hoped that the DPRK could resolve all the differences through a dialogue in a peaceful manner. Visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) holds a joint news conference with Finnish President Tarja Halonen in Helsinki, capital of Finland, May 26, 2009. Ban Ki-moon arrived in Helsinki on Monday for a three-day official visit to Finland at the invitation of Tarja Halonen. (Xinhua/Zhao Changchun)     This was Ban's first visit to Finland as the UN secretary-general. He held talks with Halonen on such issues as the climate change, global economic crisis and UN peacekeeping operation.     The UN chief also warned of severe consequences of the climate change when he delivered a speech at the Finnish parliament. He said that only by acting at once could mankind avert a potential catastrophe.     "A comprehensive, fair and effective climate agreement would enable us to look toward a brighter future," he said, calling on all countries to take immediate actions to develop green economy, cut emissions and try to reach an agreement on the Copenhagen Climate Summit in the coming December.

Editor: Xiong Tong