South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, set to become the next U.N. secretary-general, pledged Friday to help resolve the impasse over North Korea's nuclear weapons and improve dire human rights conditions in the communist country. In an interview with South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Ban said he will appoint a permanent U.N. special envoy to handle the North Korea nuclear standoff _ which has gained new urgency after the communist country conducted its first-ever nuclear test on Oct. 9. «As I watch the situation ... I will also consider a trip to North Korea myself,» said Ban, who will take over the top U.N. job from Kofi Annan on Jan. 1.
