2nd LD) Seoul names new senior intelligence officers

(ATTN: CHANGES slug, RECASTS headline, lead paras to highlight official appointment;
UPDATES with minor changes throughout)
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top negotiator to North Korean nuclear
disarmament talks was appointed Friday as a deputy director of the country's
intelligence agency in a reshuffle that also saw the appointment of two other
officials, the presidential office said .
Kim Sook, a career diplomat, was named the first deputy director at the National
Intelligence Service (NIS), whose office handles international affairs.
The appointment also included Park Seong-do and Choi Jong-heup, both NIS
retirees, as second and third deputy directors, respectively tasked with domestic
and North Korean affairs, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
The reshuffle comes less than a month after Won Sei-hoon, the former
administration minister, was appointed head of the NIS.
Kim, 55, has served as the country's chief envoy in the six-way nuclear talks
that also involve the United States, Japan, China, Russia and North Korea since
last year.
"Kim is thought to be the person best fit for the post in gathering and analyzing
information regarding international affairs because he has served in various key
posts at the foreign ministry and in the American region," the presidential
office said in a released statement.
The three new deputies were officially appointed in a ceremony held at the
presidential office.
Park, a graduate of Seoul's Korea University, the president's alma mater, was
picked based on his career at the NIS as a political and domestic affairs expert,
the presidential office said.
Born in North Jeolla Province, Park, 61, served as a regional chief of the NIS
before retiring.
Choi, 60, currently serves as a senior adviser for the NIS. The native from North
Gyeongsang Province will lead the office that handles North Korean affairs as
well as North Korean defectors coming to the South.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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