Envoy to U.S. named new national security adviser

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Envoy to U.S. named new national security adviser

Then-Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong, left, poses for a photo with then-National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul in June 2022. Cho was named as the new national security adviser Wednesday after Kim Sung tendered his resignation earlier that day. [YONHAP]

Then-Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong, left, poses for a photo with then-National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul in June 2022. Cho was named as the new national security adviser Wednesday after Kim Sung tendered his resignation earlier that day. [YONHAP]

 
Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong was named as new national security adviser Wednesday after Kim Sung-han stepped down from the post that day.  
 
Kim's resignation comes at an unusual time, with less than a month until President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States, following media speculation that Seoul's top security official would soon be replaced.
 
"President Yoon decided to accept the resignation of National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han after careful consideration," Kim Eun-hye, senior secretary for press affairs, said in a press briefing, adding Cho was selected as his replacement.
 
Cho, who has served as Yoon's first ambassador to the United States since last year, is a career diplomat with nearly three decades of experience and an expert on Korea-U.S. ties and North Korean nuclear issues.
 
He previously served as a vice foreign minister and a deputy national security adviser in the Park Geun-hye administration.
 
A graduate of Seoul National University, Cho also was Seoul's chief negotiator in the defunct six-party talks on North Korean denuclearization, a director general of the North American Affairs Bureau and ambassador to Australia and Ireland. He later served as a lawmaker.
 
The appointment came less than an hour after the presidential office announced that Kim had tendered his resignation.
 
"A year ago, when I was offered the position by the president, I said that I would return to academia after laying the groundwork for restoring the Korea-U.S. alliance, improving Korea-Japan relations and strengthening Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation," Kim said in a statement through the presidential office. "I think those conditions have been met to some extent now."
 
The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper first reported Tuesday Kim could be replaced over a planning issue related to Yoon's upcoming visit for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden.  
 
It quoted a source from the presidential office as saying that Yoon has felt the need to revamp his foreign policy and national security team in line with the process of coordinating the visit to the United States, leaving open the option of replacing Kim.
 
The presidential office had denied various reports that it was considering replacing Kim amid a series of reshuffles of officials charged with diplomatic and security matters ahead of key overseas trips.
 
A presidential official told reporters that the Dong-A report "differs from the truth."
 
Kim is a longtime friend of Yoon's, having gone to the same elementary school. Before taking the security adviser post, he was a professor of international relations at Korea University.
 
Kim was a key adviser on foreign and national security affairs since Yoon's campaign days and served on the presidential transition team's foreign affairs and security subcommittee.
 
He previously served as vice foreign and trade minister under the Lee Myung-bak administration. 
 
Then-National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han takes part in a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Tuesday. He announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon. [YONHAP]

Then-National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han takes part in a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Tuesday. He announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon. [YONHAP]

His resignation follows the recent replacement of Lee Moon-hee, presidential foreign affairs secretary, despite him being a key working-level official handling the upcoming U.S. visit.
 
The presidential office confirmed the news Monday, saying that Lee had been suffering from a heavy workload over the past year.
 
On March 10, Kim Il-bum, chief of protocol, another important role when arranging summits and overseas trips, resigned just ahead of Yoon's visit to Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
 
After his U.S. visit, Yoon is also expected to attend the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
 
National Security Adviser Kim said that preparations for Yoon's upcoming visit to the United States for a summit on April 26 "are well underway" so that his new successor can carry out his duties "without a hitch."
 
"I hope that the controversy caused by me will no longer be a burden on diplomacy and state administration," Kim said, likely referring to the previous media speculation regarding his eminent replacement.
 
He said he will continue to wish for the best for the Yoon administration even after he returns to academia.
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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