U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon calls on North Korea to return to cooperation

SEOGWIPO, South Korea, May 26 (UPI) -- Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea on Thursday to cease all provocations and comply with its international obligations.

The United Nations secretary-general also said the international community should "hold on a firm line" on North Korea and that he hoped U.N. sanctions could persuade Pyongyang to denuclearize.

Speaking at a global forum held annually on South Korea's Jeju Island, Ban encouraged South Korea and regional allies to pursue talks with North Korea, despite Pyongyang's refusal to give up nuclear proliferation.

"Rising tensions on the Korean peninsula could cast a shadow across Northeast Asia and beyond," Ban said, according to Yonhap.

"I welcome efforts to move forward, and I stand ready as the secretary-general of the United Nations and also personally to contribute in any way that might be helpful."

North Korea, however, has not been willing to ease tensions in the past by following through with invitations to foreign dignitaries.

Ban was planning a visit to North Korea about a year ago when Pyongyang backtracked on its decision to allow the visit.

At the time, Ban said he hoped the visit would help drive the increased development of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a jointly operated factory park in North Korea that closed down in February as tensions escalated on the peninsula.

North Korea's belligerence has grown in 2016 and a nuclear weapons test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February led to the U.N. Security Council decision to adopt heavier sanctions, Ban said, according to South Korean news network YTN.

Ban also said it was North Korea's nuclear and missile development that were hurting the livelihoods of the North Korean people, especially its most vulnerable population.

North Korea remains one of the world's most economically isolated countries. One in three North Korean children under age 5 suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition, and one-third of North Korean women are afflicted by anemia, according to the World Food Program.