The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 29th, dismissed concerns about the sudden resignation of the head of the National Security Office of the Presidential Office, Kim Seong-han, ahead of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s state visit to the United States, saying, “There will be no problem.”
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with reporters on the 30th and said, “The Embassy in the United States is one of the fairly large diplomatic missions,” and said, “We maintain close cooperation with the White House and related ministries as well as the US State Department. We are already preparing for a state visit to the United States while maintaining a close cooperation system for a considerable period of time,” he stressed.
He continued, “(Cho Tae-yong) was selected as the new head of the National Security Office while serving as ambassador to the United States, so he is aware of all major pending issues between Korea and the United States.”
He added, “Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is no longer run by people, but by the system, I think major events will be well prepared.”
The presidential office is likely to ask the US for agrémant (prior consent to diplomatic mission) for First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyeon-dong, who is known to have been nominated as the new ambassador to the United States soon. In the case of the United States, it is known that the Agrement procedure takes 2 weeks at the fastest and 4 to 6 weeks on average.
As long as the formal appointment is received only after the Agremang process is over, Vice Minister Cho will continue to serve as the first vice minister until the procedure. An official explained, “The first vice minister’s work is in charge of the entire constituency,” but “the state visit continues to take necessary measures.”
Until the agrémant process is over, the Korean embassy in the United States will operate as an ambassador system.
On the other hand, regarding the appointment of Lee Moon-hee, former secretary for foreign affairs at the National Security Office, to the head of the diplomatic security office at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, “I know that he is on standby because he is not yet in a political position. He did not receive a personnel appointment,” he said.
Regarding the fact that ‘Blackpink and Lady Gaga’s joint performance was not reported’ is being mentioned as the reason behind former Chief of Security Kim’s hardship, an official said, “It is not the place to comment.” We are continuing to discuss and coordinate through it,” he said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.