Gov't reshuffles foreign policy team after resignation

Diplomacy

Published: 30 Mar. 2023, 17:37 Updated: 30 Mar. 2023, 18:14

Gov't reshuffles foreign policy team after resignation

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with Cho Tae-yong, his new national security adviser, in an appointment ceremony at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Korean government reshuffled its diplomatic team with figures well-versed in U.S. and North Korean affairs within a day after the resignation of former National Security Office chief Kim Sung-han in an attempt to avoid any vacuum in foreign affairs and security matters.

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong was tapped as the new Korean ambassador to the United States, according to diplomatic sources Thursday, as the current top envoy to Washington, Cho Tae-yong, was named the new national security adviser to replace Kim the previous day.

Kim resigned Wednesday amid media speculation that he will soon be replaced — despite the presidential office's denial the previous day of such reports — setting off a rapid succession of appointments ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States less than a month away.

The new appointments realign the Yoon government's top diplomatic and security team tasked with communicating with the United States and dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue.

Cho Hyun-dong, a career diplomat who joined the Foreign Ministry in 1985, is considered well-versed in North Korean nuclear affairs and familiar with working with the United States.

He previously served as a minister and a first secretary at the Korean Embassy in Washington, as the director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs, as the director of the Foreign Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau and as a public diplomacy ambassador. He also worked as a secretary for national security strategy under the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Seoul is expected to request Washington to speed along the diplomatic protocol process to approve the new ambassador appointee, known as agrement, which usually takes over a month.

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong speaks at a press conference at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on March 10. [NEWS1]

Foreign Minister Park Jin, likewise, is another figure with close ties with the United States, with his experience at the Blue House as a press secretary and presidential secretary for political affairs in the Kim Young-sam administration and as a four-term lawmaker.

Diplomatic sources say that the new diplomatic team is an "optimal combination" for preparing for the upcoming Korea-U.S. summit on April 26 and encouraging coordination and communication because of their prior experiences in the Blue House and working with Washington.

Cho Tae-yong, the new national security advisor, stressed the importance of the presidential office and national security team working as "one team" in his first remarks to reporters since his appointment.

"In this critical time, I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility taking on the post of national security adviser," Cho said.

"I believe that the cornerstone for the construction of a global pivotal state has been well laid over the past 11 months," he said. "It is my mission to return the favor by building a quality house on that cornerstone as to complete the national goals of the Yoon administration."

Cho has served as Yoon's ambassador to Washington since May last year and was visiting Seoul this week to attend an annual meeting of chiefs of overseas diplomatic missions.

Cho also has experience working for the Blue House, serving as deputy national security adviser in the Park Geun-hye administration and is familiar with Pyongyang affairs as Seoul's chief negotiator in the defunct six-party talks on North Korean denuclearization.

"I believe it is absolutely necessary for all members of the presidential office, including the National Security Office, to work together as one team, and I will do my best to this end," Cho said.

His remarks come after Kim Sung-han tendered his resignation to Yoon, saying he would step down as national security adviser to return to his professor post at Korea University because he felt he'd helped lay out the groundwork for restoring the Korea-U.S. alliance, improving Korea-Japan relations and strengthening security cooperation among the three countries.

He said he hopes that any controversy related to him "will no longer be a burden on diplomacy and state administration," likely referring to the media speculation regarding his eminent replacement.

Kim was the latest of a string of resignations this month, with chief of protocol Kim Il-bum and presidential foreign affairs secretary Lee Moon-hee both stepping down despite being in key positions for working-level talks in arranging overseas trips and summits.

The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported Tuesday that Kim Sung-han could be replaced after a planning issue related to Yoon's upcoming Washington visit.

Various media outlets reported that Kim omitted a report to the president on the scheduling of joint cultural events, namely a U.S. offer to invite Korean girl group Blackpink to perform at a state dinner hosted by Biden alongside American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga.

The idea for the joint cultural event was reportedly proposed by U.S. first lady Jill Biden.

People Power Party (PPP) sources said Wednesday that the United States reportedly proposed a collaborative performance between Korean and American singers but that Kim and others didn't follow up on the proposal, keeping the president in the dark.

BTS was reportedly another initial candidate for the Korean side.

For state visits, which entail more pomp and ceremony than ordinary trips, such joint cultural events play an important role in symbolizing the strength of bilateral ties.

This marks the first state visit by a Korean president to the United States in 12 years and the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

On Thursday, Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, the PPP's secretary general, brushed off reports that Kim had resigned as national security chief over failing to report on the Blackpink event.

"That's not true," Lee told CBS radio. "He wouldn't have simply resigned over something like that."

When asked about the reports of Kim failing to follow up on the Blackpink and Lady Gaga cultural event, a presidential office official Thursday didn't outright deny them but said, "You need to look at it from the bigger picture."

He added that the national security adviser is a post that needs to look at the "bigger framework while simultaneously looking into the fine details," adding that Cho, who is more familiar with working in the field than someone from academia, is the "most suitable individual at the current time" for the job.

YG Entertainment, Blackpink's agency, confirmed Tuesday it had received an offer for the group to perform at the state dinner on April 26.

However, Blackpink is currently scheduled to perform in Mexico City on April 26 and 27 as a part of its ongoing world tour.

Blackpink and Lady Gaga previously collaborated on the 2020 song "Sour Candy."

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