SEOUL, South Korea – U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told his fellow South Koreans on Friday to trust and support the country's leaders following weeks of protests against U.S. beef imports that have rocked the government.

Speaking at a joint news conference with South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Ban said he felt it was “very important for the government to be responsible for upholding the public safety and the public welfare of the people.”

“But at the same time, I also feel that it is very important for the people to support policies of the government and to actively have trust in the government and to ensure and support the Korean government's desire to act in accordance with international standards and agreements,” the United Nations secretary-general said.

South Korea's agreement in April to resume American beef imports triggered strong public outrage amid perceptions, fanned in part by sensational media reports, that it would expose the country to a greater risk of mad cow disease.

Protesters have taken to the streets nearly every night in candlelight vigils to oppose the pact, despite repeated government assurances that the safety of American beef is scientifically proven.

Unrelenting demonstrations forced Seoul to negotiate an amendment to the deal with Washington to limit shipments to beef from younger cattle, believed less susceptible to mad cow disease.

But that failed to fully defuse the situation and daily demonstrations, though on a smaller scale, have continued and grown more violent. Protesters are demanding a full renegotiation of the beef deal, but the government says that doing so would hurt the country's international credibility.

Lauding South Korea's rise to become an economic power and a democracy, Ban said his fellow countrymen should “undertake a role that is commensurate with such accomplishments.”

“I sincerely hope that the Korean government and the people will be able to overcome this issue wisely,” he said.

On North Korea, Ban praised recent progress in international nuclear talks and reaffirmed his willingness to travel to the communist nation if that would help move the denuclearization process forward. But he added he has no specific plans to travel there.

Ban also said Pyongyang should improve its human rights conditions.

Ban arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a five-day visit, and met with President Lee Myung-bak and other top officials. On Saturday, he is scheduled to visit his rural hometown, where his birthplace is being restored as a tourist attraction.

It is his first visit home since he took the top U.N. job in January, 2007 after serving as Seoul's foreign minister.

In a speech earlier Friday before hundreds of lawmakers, diplomats and others at parliament, Ban urged Seoul to contribute more foreign aid and peacekeepers abroad, saying the country owes the international community for its help in rebuilding after the Korean War.

“My friends, Korea is not doing what it must. Personally, I'm ashamed as secretary-general,” Ban said.

Ban said Seoul ranks at “the dead bottom” among members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development grouping of rich nations in terms of providing funds for underdeveloped nations.

“This is not befitting a great country like Korea,” he said. “The Republic of Korea was saved by concerted action through the United Nations in the 1950s during the Korean War. Now it is our turn to return and pay this debt to the international community.”

Ban's trip was part of an Asia tour that also took him to Japan and China earlier this week.

South Koreans take great pride in Ban, considering his U.N. job a symbol of the rise in international stature of a country that rebuilt itself from the 1950-53 war with North Korea.