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 UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council on Monday formally nominated South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to succeed Kofi Annan as United Nations secretary-general, all but assuring that the quiet diplomat will become the eighth chief in the world body's 61-year history.
What would have been an event of major significance — Ban will become one of the world's best-known and most influential diplomats over his five-year term — was overshadowed by North Korea's claim that it had conducted a nuclear test.
"This should be a moment of joy. But instead, I stand here with a very heavy heart," Ban said at a news conference in Seoul. "Despite the concerted warning from the international community, North Korea has gone ahead with a nuclear test."
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