Anchor: South Korea has been elected a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. During the two years that it will sit on the council, it hopes to work with member states, including China and Russia, to take a more pro-active role in dealing with North Korea. 
Kim Bum-soo wraps up the story. 

Report: South Korea has secured one of the rotating non-permanent seats of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) in a vote in the UN General Assembly.

[Sound bite: Csaba Kőrösi – President, United Nations General Assembly]
"Having obtained the required two-thirds majority and the largest number of votes, Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia are elected members of the Security Council for the two-year term beginning of January 1st, 2024."

Claiming 180 votes among 192 participating member states during the assembly session on Tuesday, South Korea won the two-year term beginning in January of next year.

This marks the third time South Korea has been elected to the position after previously serving from 1996 to 1997 and 2013 to 2014.

Following the election, South Korea's Ambassador to the UN, Hwang Joon-kook, said that Seoul will expand cooperation to deal with North Korea.

[Sound bite: Hwang Joon-kook – S. Korean Permanent Representative to the UN]
“... we are ready to deal with other significant regional and thematic Security Council issues, including counterterrorism and the long standing DPRK issues, both nuclear and the human rights situations. In doing so, we will work very closely with all other council members and all UN member states."

The election came amid continuing tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Speaking to South Korean correspondents in New York, Hwang said Seoul will seek to expand communication with Beijing and Moscow in the council. 

[Sound bite: Hwang Joon-kook – S. Korean Permanent Representative to the UN (Korean-English)]
"It's hard to expect sudden significant changes as our joining of the UNSC does not mean China and Russia will all of the sudden change their positions. However, we would like to continue communication with them to expand cooperation."

The council consists of five veto-holding permanent members, including the U.S., China and Russia, and ten non-permanent members.

The UNSC has been divided on the issue of further penalizing North Korea, with China and Russia exercising their veto rights at sessions following the regime's provocations.

North Korea most recently fired what it claims to be a space rocket, violating UNSC resolutions that ban the regime from activities related to ballistic missile technologies. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.