[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Sung Kim, the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia who previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea and the chief representative for the North Korean nuclear six-party talks, has been appointed as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Biden administration's top East Asia diplomatic official at the U.S. Department of State.
Given his expertise in North Korean nuclear negotiations, he is expected to play a key role in North Korea-U.S. relations under the Biden administration.
According to the U.S. Department of State website on the 22nd, Ambassador Kim was listed as the Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, responsible for the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and other related areas.
The Department of State revamped its website on the 20th to coincide with President Joe Biden's inauguration, and it is reported that Ambassador Kim was appointed on the same day. Ambassador Kim is expected to be formally confirmed after Senate confirmation hearings following the approval of Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Deputy Secretary nominee Wendy Sherman.
The Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs oversees diplomatic issues concerning China, Japan, and Asia-Pacific countries, managing the overall diplomatic agenda in the region.
In addition to East Asian and Pacific diplomatic issues, Ambassador Kim is expected to coordinate closely with Kurt Campbell, the former Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs appointed as the White House Asia policy 'czar,' and Wendy Sherman, former Deputy Secretary nominee and former North Korea policy coordinator, to engage in North Korean nuclear negotiations under the Biden administration.
Ambassador Kim was born in Seoul and immigrated to the United States in 1973 when he was in the first year of middle school.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions, worked as a prosecutor, and became a career diplomat. Notably, Ambassador Kim served as the Director of the State Department's Korea Desk in 2006 and was appointed as the U.S. chief representative for the six-party talks and special envoy for North Korea in 2008, demonstrating his deep knowledge of Korean and North Korean affairs.
During President Barack Obama's administration, he was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea in 2011 and became the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2014.
After serving as Ambassador to the Philippines, he participated as a U.S. representative in the pre-negotiations for the Singapore North Korea-U.S. summit under President Donald Trump in 2018.
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