Kazakhstan has been elected to the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term starting January 1.
The 193-member UN General Assembly elected Kazakhstan with 138 votes in favor over Thailand in a second round of voting on June 28.
The win means Kazakhstan gets a nonpermanent Security Council seat allocated for Asia.
The 15-member Security Council consists of five permanent members with veto power -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France -- and 10 nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.
Nonpermanent seats are allocated by region and candidate countries are nominated by regional groups.
