US Special Representative for North Korea, Sudden Appointment During Visit to South Korea

Promotion of Vegan Representative to Deputy Minister Continues with Key North Korea Line Personnel Shift
Expected Impact of Reduced Interest in North Korea-US Dialogue

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump has once again made personnel changes to the State Department's North Korea team.

Alex Wong, U.S. Department of State Special Representative for North Korea, is arriving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Doryeom-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th for the Korea-U.S. Working Group meeting.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 11th (local time), the White House announced that President Trump has abruptly promoted Alex Wong, the State Department's Deputy Special Representative for North Korea and Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Korea, to the position of Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs at the United Nations.

Wong, the Deputy Special Representative, was widely expected to have an expanded role after Steven Biegun, the State Department Deputy Secretary, was promoted from Special Representative for North Korea at the end of last year and effectively took charge of North Korea-related affairs. However, Wong was instead reassigned. Since Deputy Secretary Biegun’s promotion expanded his responsibilities beyond North Korea, limiting his maneuverability, the departure of Wong is expected to cause some disruption in the State Department’s North Korea operations.

This personnel change was announced after Wong held the U.S.-South Korea working group meeting and the U.S.-South Korea Deputy Special Representative for North Korea meeting in South Korea. The personnel change came immediately after consultations between the U.S. and South Korea on individual tours to North Korea and inter-Korean economic cooperation, inevitably affecting future negotiations.

The Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs at the United Nations is an ambassador-level position requiring Senate confirmation. Previously, Deputy Secretary Biegun was unable to engage actively in external activities for over two months while preparing for Senate confirmation, so it is likely that Wong will also keep a low profile and focus on hearing preparations for the time being.

This personnel change can also be linked to observations that President Trump is lowering the priority of North Korea-U.S. negotiations. In diplomatic circles, there is growing assessment that Trump’s omission of North Korea in his third State of the Union address on the 4th indicates that the priority of North Korea-U.S. dialogue has been pushed back. CNN also reported the day before that President Trump conveyed to his top foreign policy aides that he does not want to hold a third North Korea-U.S. summit with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un before the presidential election.

There is also interest in who will fill Wong’s position. If President Trump leaves Wong’s position vacant for an extended period, it could serve as a gauge of his level of interest in North Korea issues. Trump also delayed appointments of many senior State Department officials and key ambassadors early in his administration.