U.S. Embassy in South Korea Changes Leadership Ahead of Trump Visit; 'North Korea Expert' Kevin Kim Begins Duties

[Financial News] Ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea, Kevin Kim, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has been swiftly appointed as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Korea and officially began his duties on the 27th. Known as an expert on the Korean Peninsula, he will serve as acting ambassador while the ambassadorial post remains vacant.
If President Trump meets with Kim Jong Un, Chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Chargé d’Affaires Kim is expected to be directly involved.
In a statement, the State Department said, "In Korea, Chargé d’Affaires Kim will work to advance the mutual interests and shared values of both countries and strengthen the ironclad commitment to the ROK-US Alliance."
From 2018 to 2020, Chargé d’Affaires Kim led practical U.S. policy on North Korea as part of the State Department’s Special Representative for North Korea Policy office. He has a strong working network for U.S.-South Korea and U.S.-North Korea negotiations and is familiar with the foreign policy of the first Trump administration.
He also served as a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia.
Prior to joining the State Department, he worked as a professional staff member for the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and served as a national security fellow in the office of Senator Bill Hagerty.
Many interpret Kim’s appointment as a strategic decision to place a Korean Peninsula expert with close ties to the Trump administration in the role, anticipating future U.S.-North Korea talks. The Chargé d’Affaires can be appointed without Senate confirmation, allowing for a swift transition in time for President Trump’s Asia tour.
The selection of Chargé d’Affaires Kim, who has extensive experience in North Korea negotiations and diplomacy, is seen as a move to quickly implement the Trump administration’s preferred policy on the Korean Peninsula.
With this appointment, the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Korea is expected to continue operating under the Chargé d’Affaires system for an extended period. The ambassadorial post has been vacant for ten months, during which Joseph Yun, appointed by the Joe Biden administration, has served as Chargé d’Affaires.
rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter