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Sung Kim, the acting assistant secretary in the US State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has been appointed special envoy to North Korea.

Sung Kim, the acting assistant secretary in the US State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has been appointed special envoy to North Korea, becoming the first person to hold that position under the Biden administration. Kim previously served as the US ambassador to South Korea.

During a joint press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, US President Joe Biden said he was pleased to announce that career diplomat Sung Kim would be serving as the US special envoy to North Korea.

Biden asked Kim, who was present at the press conference, to stand up for his introduction.

Moon said he welcomed Kim’s appointment as special envoy to North Korea.

Kim was appointed acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs upon Biden’s inauguration. Since then, he has been reviewing North Korea policy for the Biden administration.

Until Kim’s appointment, the position of special envoy to North Korea had remained vacant for the first four months of the Biden administration.

After completing its review of North Korea policy at the end of last month, the US reportedly proposed making contact with North Korea to explain the results of its policy review. Now that Biden has appointed a special envoy to lead negotiations with the North, the next question is whether the two sides will speed up efforts to resume dialogue.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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