South Korean Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations' secretary-general-designate, will take the oath of office on Thursday morning, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday.

The UN General Assembly will meet to pay tribute to outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan and adopt a resolution in appreciation of the 68-year-old secretary-general, who steps down at the end of this month.

Ban, the 62-year-old former South Korean foreign minister, will meet the press after his swearing-in.

Ban will formally take over as the UN chief on Jan. 1, 2007, with Annan serving as secretary-general until then, the spokesman said.

Annan, who has been at the helm of the world body since 1997, will hold his last year-end press conference on Dec. 19.

Editor: Yan