Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon was approved today by the United Nations as the world body's eighth secretary-general, and afterward urged the Security Council to unite against North Korea's nuclear-bomb aspirations.

The Security Council's choice of Ban, 62, to succeed Kofi Annan was ratified by acclamation in the General Assembly, consisting of all 192 UN member governments. Ban will become the first Asian to run the UN since U Thant of Burma, the country now called Myanmar by its military rulers. He held the position from 1961 to 1971.

``It has been a long journey from my youth in war-torn and destitute Korea to this rostrum and these awesome responsibilities,'' Ban said in accepting the post, in both English and French. He will take office on Jan. 1 for a five- year term that can be renewed once.

The choice of Ban for the top job coincides with increased UN involvement in attempting to thwart North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Ban has said he would like to help mediate the dispute with the communist government in North Korea.

North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war, and Ban today referred to the conflict of the early 1950s that altered the destinies of the two countries.

Ban told the General Assembly that the UN ``was with my people in our darkest days'' after being invaded by North Korea in 1950. ``It gave us hope and sustenance, security and dignity,'' he said. ``It showed us a better way. So I feel at home today.''

`Clear Message'

At a press conference after the assembly's vote, Ban asked the Security Council to pass a resolution of condemnation for a suspected North Korean nuclear-bomb test this week.

``It is absolutely necessary that the international community should again send out a very strong, unified and clear message so that North Korea will not have any temptation to engage in any further negative activities,'' Ban said.

The council will meet tomorrow to vote on a draft measure backed by the U.S. that bars the sale of military equipment and missile- and nuclear-related goods to North Korea.

While Russia was objecting late today to specific items on a list of goods banned for shipment to North Korea, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton expressed confidence that the vote would go forward.

The North Korean nuclear issue is one that likely will pass from Annan to Ban. Annan, 68, is finishing his second term. He and the UN won the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, a highlight of his tenure, which was also marked by criticism for a scandal involving Iraq aid money that flourished on his watch.

Annan described Ban as having a ``truly global mind,'' at the meeting of the General Assembly. Ban ``is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent,'' Annan said.

North Korea

When he wasn't conducting what French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere called a ``very professional'' campaign for secretary-general, Ban spent recent months shuttling between the U.S. and Beijing to coordinate six-nation talks on trying to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

Ban declined to say today whether he would go to North Korea as UN chief.

Initial results of an air sample collected Oct. 10 to verify North Korea's claim that it conducted a nuclear test the previous day show no signs of radioactive particles, a U.S. intelligence official said.

A final analysis of the sample will be completed later today or tomorrow, said the official, who requested anonymity.

Fumes of Bomb

The results don't definitively cast doubt on North Korea's assertion that it conducted an underground nuclear test because the bomb's fumes may have been contained initially, the official said. Still, it's difficult to keep some fumes from eventually venting into the atmosphere, the official said.

In an interview last month Ban said he was ``confident'' that his experience in diplomacy on North Korea would benefit him in dealing with other international disputes.

The South Korean diplomat won four rounds of informal votes among the 15 countries on the Security Council, the UN's highest body. His Oct. 9 appointment by the council came as it was debating a response to a suspected nuclear test carried out by North Korea.

U.S. `Confident'

From Annan, Ban will inherit an institution with 9,000 workers, $5 billion in annual spending, 16 peacekeeping missions and a public image tarnished by a series of corruption scandals and sexual-abuse allegations against UN peacekeepers.

``We are confident that Foreign Minister Ban will both represent and instill the highest standards of integrity within the United Nations system,'' Bolton, representing the U.S. as host country of the UN, said in a speech.

The U.S. has been one of the most vocal critics of financial mismanagement in the UN and seats on human rights bodies given to countries such as Sudan and Cuba that the U.S. says are human-rights abusers.

Ban defeated six other candidates, including UN Undersecretary-General Shashi Tharoor, 50, of India; Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, 47; Prince Zeid Ra'ad al- Hussein, Jordan's 42-year-old ambassador to the UN; Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, 69; and former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani, 57.

Ban has headed South Korea's foreign ministry since January 2004. He previously served as President Roh Moo Hyun's foreign policy adviser and before that as South Korea's ambassador to the UN in 2001 and to Austria in 1998.

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Zeranski at the United Nations at tzeranski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 13, 2006 19:34 EDT