ID :
190979
Sat, 06/25/2011 - 08:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190979
The shortlink copeid
Obama names Sung Kim as top envoy to Korea
(ATTN: UPDATES with details)
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has formally nominated Sung Kim, a career diplomat with expertise in Korean affairs, as his new ambassador to Seoul, the White House announced Friday.
If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Kim, 51, will replace Kathleen Stephens, probably in September, and become the first-ever U.S. ambassador to Seoul with an origin in Korea. Kim immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s and obtained U.S. citizenship in 1980.
Kim is known as the State Department's top Korea expert, fluent in Korean as well.
He has served as special envoy to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program since July 2008, after heading the Office of Korean Affairs at the department for two years. He worked at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul as political-military unit chief from 2002-06.
Diplomatic sources said Obama took into account Kim's diplomatic career and expertise in Korean affairs, overriding calls for the nomination of a political heavyweight. Many observers expect upheavals in regional security conditions around 2012, when North Korea aims to become a self-styled "strong and prosperous" nation. South Korea, China and Russia will go through leadership
changes next year, and Obama is up for reelection.
lcd@yna.co.kr
leechidong@gmail.com
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has formally nominated Sung Kim, a career diplomat with expertise in Korean affairs, as his new ambassador to Seoul, the White House announced Friday.
If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Kim, 51, will replace Kathleen Stephens, probably in September, and become the first-ever U.S. ambassador to Seoul with an origin in Korea. Kim immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s and obtained U.S. citizenship in 1980.
Kim is known as the State Department's top Korea expert, fluent in Korean as well.
He has served as special envoy to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program since July 2008, after heading the Office of Korean Affairs at the department for two years. He worked at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul as political-military unit chief from 2002-06.
Diplomatic sources said Obama took into account Kim's diplomatic career and expertise in Korean affairs, overriding calls for the nomination of a political heavyweight. Many observers expect upheavals in regional security conditions around 2012, when North Korea aims to become a self-styled "strong and prosperous" nation. South Korea, China and Russia will go through leadership
changes next year, and Obama is up for reelection.
lcd@yna.co.kr
leechidong@gmail.com
