US special representative for North Korea Joseph Yun is set to step down, the US Department of State said on Monday, in a move that comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s government says it is willing to hold talks with Washington.
With no ambassador in place in Seoul, Yun’s departure for “personal reasons” after more than 30 years of service leaves another hole in the US diplomatic service.
A North Korean official this week told South Korea that the door was open for dialogue, and Washington said it was willing to talk while maintaining its stance of maximum pressure.
Photo: EPA
The state department also does not have a confirmed assistant secretary for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs department.
Yun, who took up his post in 2016, advocated engagement with North Korea, even when the isolated regime launched sophisticated missiles and conducted underground nuclear tests.
During his tenure, he helped to secure the release of Otto Warmbier, a US student detained by the North, who died shortly after returning to the US. Doctors said he had obtained a “severe neurological injury” of unknown cause while in North Korean custody.
“We are sorry to see him retire, but our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
Yun’s resignation raises further questions over the North Korean policy of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Victor Cha, Trump’s original choice to be US ambassador to South Korea, was dropped as a candidate after it was reported that he had privately expressed disagreement with the administration’s North Korea policy.
Cha, a former White House official, warned in an essay last month against hitting the Kim regime with a “bloody nose,” or targeted military strike.
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