S. Korea hails nomination of Sung Kim as new U.S. envoy

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SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- The recent nomination of a South Korean-born American diplomat as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea is a positive development for relations between Seoul and Washington, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
The Barack Obama administration tapped Sung Kim, the State Department's top Korea expert, as its new top envoy to Seoul, according to sources in Washington on Saturday. If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, the 51-year-old diplomat will become the first person of Korean descent to be appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
One diplomatic source said the move is a symbolic one that reflects "upgraded South Korea-U.S. relations."
"It's significant that a 1.5-generation Korean-American has risen up in mainstream America to become the ambassador to South Korea," the source said. "By nominating Kim, the U.S. appears to be counting on him to act as the bridge between the two countries and to really connect with South Korea and its people."
Kim was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. in the 1970s before obtaining his U.S. citizenship in 1980.
He has served as a special envoy for the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear programs since July 2008, after heading the Office of Korean Affairs for two years at the State Department.
Officials here said if Kim is appointed ambassador, Seoul and Washington should be able to cooperate more closely on nuclear issues and other matters related to North Korea.
"Kim hasn't taken part in actual six-party discussions, but he has played an important role in maintaining Seoul-Washington cooperation on North Korea," a South Korean government official said. The multilateral talks, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., Russia, Japan and host China, were last held in 2008.
"The two allies could get even closer to each other in the future," the official added.
Kim was previously posted at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul as the chief of political and military affairs, and the sources said he should be able to handle sensitive matters regarding U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Chung Jin-suk, senior presidential secretary for political affairs in Seoul, welcomed Kim's appointment on a more personal level.
Chung said he and Kim were childhood friends in Seoul and had stayed in touch after Kim left for the U.S. The two were reunited in the U.S. in 1993, when Chung, a former journalist, started working as a Washington correspondent.
"Sung Kim may appear soft on the outside, but he's a strong-minded and tough person," Chung said. "It will be a symbolic move to have the first Korean-American U.S. ambassador in 129 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, and I hope he can contribute a great deal to improving the bilateral relations."