Obama names Hill as new U.S. ambassador to Iraq

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated
Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, as the new U.S. ambassador to
Iraq, the White House said Wednesday.
The official announcement was made in a statement issued by the White House,
weeks after Obama expressed his intention to send Hill to Iraq in a speech at
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in which he declared that he will withdraw all U.S.
troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
At that time, Obama cited Hill's experience "in the Peace Corps to his work in
Kosovo and Korea," saying "Ambassador Hill has been tested, and he has shown the
pragmatism and skill that we need right now."
Hill's appointment came as something of a surprise to many observers as he has no
prior experience in the Middle East.
Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will
likely be replaced by Kurt Campbell, head of the Center for New American Security
(CNAS), a private think tank. Campbell is former deputy assistant secretary of
defense.
Hill was ambassador to South Korea for two years until 2005, when he was
appointed assistant secretary of state. He did double duty as the chief U.S.
negotiator at the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The job as envoy will be taken over by his deputy, Sung Kim, who has been
promoted to head the U.S. delegation.
Sung Kim is to cooperate closely with Stephen Bosworth, special representative
for North Korea, who is expected to contact higher-level officials than North
Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, the chief North Korean delegate to
the six-party talks, to make a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations.
Hill also served as U.S. ambassador to Macedonia and Poland and special envoy to
Kosovo.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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