Ban Ki-moon is planning to formally announce his candidacy for 2nd term as UN secretary-general early next week, UN diplomats said on June 4.

The former South Korean foreign minister had already received assurances of support from the United States and other key members of the UN Security Council, diplomats said in March, making his re-election all but certain.

UN diplomats said on condition of anonymity that Ban planned to meet on June 5 morning with the so-called Asia Group, a cluster of UN member states that includes nations from Asia and the Middle East, to discuss his candidacy.

Afterward, he will hold a news conference at which he will announce publicly he is running for a second term after his first term ends on December 31. Ban is unopposed so far.

Officially, UN secretaries-general are elected by the 192-nation UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, Reuters reported.