ISTANBUL

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged "convincing" China and Japan to unify the divided Koreas on Tuesday which would contribute to global peace, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

China and Japan "need to understand the strategic benefits of a unified Korea, “Ban told the inaugural Global Korea Forum (GKF), hosted by South Korea's unification ministry.

"It is strategically vital to convince China and Japan that unification will significantly contribute to global peace and will be beneficial for them as well," said Ban.

He highlighted the necessity for South Korea to reassure China that the South Korea-US alliance is "not adversarial, but rather a force for regional peace and stability."

Ban urged South Korean officials to present a "future vision for the alliance, focusing on diplomacy, military cooperation, and the values of liberal democracy."

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recently unveiled a unification doctrine to expand North Koreans' access to external information and establish an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas.

Ri Il-gyu, a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea, suggested that Seoul should "leverage China's discomfort with North Korea's close military ties with Russia to advance unification efforts."

South and North Korea have been divided since the 1950s following the defeat of Japan in World War II, and the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Over the years, however, the two sides had set up communication channels and sealed pacts to promote trade and military agreements.

But in recent months, nearly all the pacts and agreements have ended as the two sides ramped up rival military activities.

While Seoul has closed ranks with the US and Japan, Pyongyang has established closer ties with Russia.