Familiar faces tipped to join Trump's team to tackle Korean Peninsula issues

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Familiar faces tipped to join Trump's team to tackle Korean Peninsula issues

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI


Former White House National Security Council Senior Adviser Allison Hooker speaks in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at a hotel in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, on Jan. 25, 2024. [KANG JEONG-HYEON]

Former White House National Security Council Senior Adviser Allison Hooker speaks in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at a hotel in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, on Jan. 25, 2024. [KANG JEONG-HYEON]

 
Several key figures involved in denuclearization talks with North Korea during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term are expected to make a return in his second administration, including Allison Hooker, a former White House senior adviser for Asia. 
 
Hooker served for over six years on the National Security Council, holding roles such as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for Asia, as well as special assistant to the president for the Korean Peninsula. She is under consideration for the under secretary for political affairs, which ranks third in the State Department’s hierarchy, according to a Voice of America (VOA) report on Tuesday.
 
Hooker was involved in nuclear negotiations with North Korea during Trump's first term, when he held three summits with the country's leader Kim Jong-un between 2018 and 2019.  
 
As speculation mounted that Trump might accept a “small deal” allowing North Korea to retain its nuclear arsenal, Hooker stressed the need for “reciprocal” actions between Washington and Pyongyang in last year's January interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. She also emphasized that North Korea must deliver “tangible results” on denuclearization and defended Trump’s decision to walk away from the 2019 Hanoi summit, calling it the rejection of a “bad deal.”  
 
If appointed, she would join other veterans of Trump’s North Korea policy team, including Alex Wong, who was named principal deputy national security adviser, and Kevin Kim, the new deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
 
Wong previously led the South Korea-U.S. working group meetings on sanctions coordination and has taken a firm stance against premature concessions to Pyongyang. In an August 2021 interview with VOA, Wong argued that the United States should not offer delays in joint military exercises or sanctions relief as bargaining chips to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.  
 
Similarly, Kevin Kim worked closely with former U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and helped shape negotiations during Trump’s first term. 
 
U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel addresses supporters at her election office in California on Nov. 4, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel addresses supporters at her election office in California on Nov. 4, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

The search for a new U.S. ambassador to South Korea remains ongoing. According to VOA, Michelle Park Steel, a former Republican representative from California, is a top contender for the post.  
 
Steel, a Korean American and former two-term congresswoman, narrowly lost her seat in the general election in 2024. She previously served as a White House advisory board member for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under the George W. Bush administration and later as a co-chair of the same board in Trump’s first term. She has been an advocate for Korean American issues, particularly in pushing legislative efforts for family reunions for Americans separated by the Korean War.  
 
In a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. State Department, in January, the Trump administration reportedly requested the resignations of over a dozen senior career diplomats serving as assistant secretaries and in other high-level positions. Instead, Trump authorized the selection of more than 20 “senior bureau officials” to fill key positions, primarily drawing from officials who served in his first administration at the State Department and National Security Council.  
 
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in a press briefing at the White House on Jan. 30 in Washington. [AFP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in a press briefing at the White House on Jan. 30 in Washington. [AFP/YONHAP]

“They want to have people in place whom they’ve worked with before who are known quantities,” one diplomat who was asked to resign was quoted as saying by the Washington Post on Jan. 19.  
  
With his return to the White House, Trump has expressed interest in reengaging with North Korean leader Kim. When asked if he planned to reach out to Kim during a Fox News interview in January, Trump responded, “I will, yeah. He liked me.”
 
Despite expectations for renewed dialogue, some South Korean foreign policy experts remain doubtful that negotiations will yield meaningful progress.  
 
According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, released Wednesday, 70 percent of respondents, or 28 out of 40, said they believed that even if U.S.-North Korea talks resume, it would be difficult to achieve “visible and substantive results” during Trump’s second term.   
 
Experts cited significant differences between Washington and Pyongyang’s positions on denuclearization and that North Korea may not be a top priority for the United States due to competing global priorities, including the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions in the Middle East and U.S.-China relations.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]
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