South Korean expert on North Korea Jung Park (Korean name Park Jeong-hyun) has been appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the East Asia Pacific Department of the US State Department.
Jung Park posted a post on Twitter on the 26th local time and said, "I am happy to announce that I am joining the State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the East Asia Pacific." "It is an honor to be able to serve the American people again."
Park, who was on the takeover committee of US President Joe Biden, has been in charge of the East Asian region for a long time in intelligence agencies, including the Deputy Intelligence Officer in charge of East Asia at the US National Intelligence Service (DNI) and Director of the East Asia Pacific Mission Center at the CIA.
In addition, from September 2017, he served as a Korean seat at the Brookings Research Institute, an American think tank.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Jung Park expressed skepticism of the North Korean State Council Chairman Kim Jong-un's will to denuclearize, and repeatedly expressed critical stance on the Moon Jae-in administration's policy toward North Korea.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary does not need Senate approval.
(Photo = Yonhap News)