Elections to select non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two years from next year were held at the UN General Assembly, and five countries, including South Korea, were selected.
The UN Security Council consists of five permanent members, including the United States and Russia, and 5 non-permanent members with two-year terms assigned by region, with five non-permanent members elected each year.
At the United Nations General Assembly on January 2, elections were held to select non-permanent members for two years from January next year, and South Korea, Slovenia, Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Guyana, who had run as candidates from their respective regions, were all elected with the two-thirds majority required for election.
Russia's ally Belarus also ran for one of Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries, but Slovenia was defeated.
At the United Nations Security Council, Japan has been serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term, and for one year next year, Japan and the Republic of Korea, whose relations are improving, will both become non-permanent members of the Security Council since 10, and all three countries, including the United States, will respond to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches.
After the election, South Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Hwang Jung-guk, told NHK, "Trilateral cooperation between Japan and the United States is extremely important, especially in dealing with the North Korea issue at the Security Council.
Regarding the abductions issue by North Korea, he stated, "We will aim to hold an open meeting at the Security Council to deal with human rights issues in North Korea, and we will actively discuss it at that time," and expressed his intention to cooperate with Japan and the United States to resolve the abductions issue.