MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon looks at Antarctica glaciers

Ban Ki-Moon poses at the Korean King Sejong station

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Antarctica on Friday to see firsthand the impact of climate change and the melting of glaciers.

Ban flew from Chile's southernmost city of Punta Arenas to that country's station on the Antarctica, Chilean Air Force President Eduardo Frei base, accompanied by officials and scientists. From there, he took a 45-minute flight over the region, seeing several glaciers. The U.N. leader also visited the Antarctic bases of Uruguay and South Korea, his home country. At the Korean base he was greeted by a small reception and offered traditional Korean food and drink. He then returned to Punta Arenas. On Thursday, Ban attended the opening of the Ibero-American summit, a gathering of leaders from Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal, that is being held in Santiago, Chile. He told summit delegates that global warming will be a central concern of his term as head of the world body. Ban Ki-moon said during the first visit by a UN chief to the barren continent on Friday: "I need a political answer. This is an emergency and for emergency situations we need emergency action." Antarctica has warmed more quickly than anywhere else on Earth in the last 50 years. Ban says he has made climate change a priority since he took office earlier this year and trip comes ahead a major conference on the issue to be held in Bali in December. The summit is expected to discuss a new agreement to curb carbon emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Ban flew over melting ice fields and witnessed vast chunks of ice the size of six-storey buildings floating off the coast after breaking away from ice shelves. "All we've seen has been very impressive and beautiful, extraordinarily beautiful," he said. "But at the same time it's disturbing. We've seen ... the melting of glaciers." Today Saturday, Ban was scheduled to visit Torres del Paine national park, where experts say the effects of global warming on glaciers are evident.