An official of the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has a unique ability to address worst case scenarios that might emerge on the Korean Peninsula.

Daniel Runde is the director of the center’s Project on Prosperity and Development. He said in a posting on the center’s Web site on Tuesday that “if there is a major succession and humanitarian crisis in North Korea in the coming years, as several Korea experts have predicted, Ban will be uniquely equipped to handle potential worst-case scenarios on the peninsula and in the broader region.”

Runde said that the U.S. regards Ban Ki-Moon as an exceptionally favorable secretary general and that his personal experiences align his outlook on global issues with U.S. foreign policy.

He added that Ban’s experience before becoming secretary general, including serving as South Korea’s foreign minister, makes him uniquely qualified to tackle difficult issues, including uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula and the demonstrations that continue in the Arab world known as the “Arab Spring.”