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North Korea policy expert Joseph Yun named temporary top U.S. envoy to South

Published: 07 Jan. 2025, 15:38

LIM JEONG-WON
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Former U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun, who appointed as the charge d’affaires to South Korea, speaks during a forum at Korea University in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, on Nov. 15, 2024. [YONHAP]

With U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg stepping down Tuesday, former U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun will soon be appointed as his temporary replacement.

Yun will be appointed chargé d’affaires as the Joe Biden administration ends to reduce the potential diplomatic vacuum should the Donald Trump administration take longer than expected to appoint a new ambassador to Seoul.

It is rare for Washington to appoint a separate person to serve as the chargé d'affaires immediately after the ambassador leaves office.

Goldberg, who arrived in South Korea in July 2022, left the country on Tuesday after completing his two-year and six-month term as top envoy to South Korea, and confirmed the appointment of Yun.

Ordinarily, Japanese-American Deputy Chief of Mission Joy Sakurai would have taken over as the chargé d'affaires. Trump will exercise the right to appoint the next ambassador, and since U.S. ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary must be confirmed by the Senate, the process often takes several months from nomination to appointment.

However, the Biden administration seems to have decided to send a new person to lead the embassy temporarily instead of leaving the deputy chief of mission in charge. Biden cannot appoint the next ambassador, but he can appoint the chargé d'affaires ad interim. And since the chargé d'affaires is not an ambassador, he does not need an agrément, a formal document of consent from the host country.

The United States often dispatches chargés d'affaires ad interim to countries other than South Korea. For example, Kathleen Stephens, who served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, was appointed as the chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in India in June 2014 during the Barack Obama administration.

Frequent, prolonged delays in appointing U.S. ambassadors to South Korea during administration changes may have also influenced the appointment of Yun as chargé d'affaires ad interim.

A 16-month vacancy preceded Goldberg's appointment, while an 18-month vacuum preceded the appointment of the previous ambassador, Harry Harris. Political chaos in Korea due to the impeachment trials against President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo may also influenced the decision.

The arrival of a temporary chargé d'affaires does not entirely resolve the ambassadorial vacuum, but diplomats note Yun's weight as a diplomat.

Yun has long been suggested as a candidate for U.S. ambassador to South Korea. During the Obama administration, he served concurrently as the State Department's representative for North Korea policy and the chief representative for the six-party talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Yun was reappointed during the first Trump administration, and in June 2017, he visited Pyongyang and secured the release of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who North Korean authorities had detained. However, he suddenly resigned in February 2018, just as North Korea-U.S. talks took off. At the time, he said the resignation was "entirely my decision."

Yun, considered a proponent of dialogue with North Korea over the nuclear issue, attended the April meeting of the Korean Peninsula Forum hosted by the Korea Peace Foundation during a visit to Seoul last year.

Regarding the prospects for North Korea-U.S. negotiations under a re-elected Trump, he said, "Personal relationships are also important in diplomacy, so there is no doubt that Trump will want to negotiate with North Korea.

“However, Trump will not agree to simply freezing and dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear facility, which he had already rejected at the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit in February 2019."

He added. "The key is whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un can offer something more than that."

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg waves as he leaves after completing his term as ambassador at Incheon International Airport on Jan. 7. [NEWS1]

Meanwhile, outgoing ambassador Goldberg said as he left the country that denuclearizing North Korea should remain a principle to continue pushing despite challenges from Pyongyang.

“I believe that denuclearization is an important principle to follow and to continue pressing," Goldberg said at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday before his departure. “It is important for nonproliferation reasons and for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

Goldberg also praised South Korean democracy despite the recent political turmoil surrounding Yoon’s impeachment after the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3.

“This is a great democracy that I think will continue to function,” said Goldberg. “I also know that you'll get through them and that the Korean people will get through them. I'm leaving with a sentimental feeling, a bit of sadness, but also know there are other adventures as I get back to the United States, and a free life after 36 years in the foreign service.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON, PARK HYUN-JU [[email protected]]