SEOUL: Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he was communicating with authorities in military-run Myanmar, as well as members of the armed resistance following a surprise visit to the country last month, and called for more diplomatic pressure on the ruling generals to end the violence.

Ban did not specify the nature of those communications and declined to disclose the details of his conversations with military leaders during their April meetings. He was speaking at a news conference in South Korea's capital Seoul along with other members of The Elders, a group of senior statesmen engaging in peacemaking and human rights initiatives around the world.