By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee
Former State Department Special Representative for North Korea Affairs Joseph Yun (71) will serve as interim chargé d'affaires to replace outgoing U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg at the end of his term, the Korean vernacular daily Chosun Ilbo reported on Jan. 6.
The U.S. government is said to have decided that it is urgent to maintain a stable high-level communication channel between the U.S. and South Korea as the uncertainty of the impeachment situation grows after the Dec. 3 emergency martial law.
According to the report, President Biden has decided to send Yun, a North Korea expert, as a temporary deputy ambassador to fill the gap left by Goldberg, who will soon return home.
A deputy ambassador is a high-ranking diplomat who temporarily takes charge of a country's diplomatic affairs while the official ambassador is away on leave. While a U.S. ambassador must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a process that can take several months to more than a year, an acting ambassador can be appointed immediately.
“The idea is to send a trusted person to South Korea as soon as possible to ensure that there are no gaps in the dialog between the two countries,” a diplomatic source said.
The post of U.S. ambassador to South Korea has been vacant in the past due to US regime changes. During Trump's first term, the U.S. government left the post vacant until July 2018, a year and a half after Trump's inauguration, when former Ambassador Harry Harris took over.
However, unlike the past practice of promoting a senior diplomat who remains at the embassy to the post of ambassador, the practice of temporarily assigning a separate person as ambassador is unprecedented, according to U.S. diplomats. The U.S. may have been worried that the prolonged vacancy in the ambassador's post could disrupt the channels of its communication with South Korea.
The Biden administration reportedly explained the purpose of the dispatch to Trump, who will take office later this month. As a result, Yun is likely to lead the U.S. embassy in South Korea on an interim basis until Trump takes office and nominates a permanent U.S. ambassador to South Korea. “It's unusual that the new administration, both Democratic and Republican, would agree to such a move,” said a U.S. political insider.
Yun is recognized as one of the United States’ leading experts on relations with North Korea, as well as on broader U.S.-East Asian policy. In March 2022, the Biden administration appointed Ambassador Yun as Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations. He is Senior Advisor with The Asia Group and U.S. Institute of Peace and a Global Affairs Contributor for CNN.
Ambassador Yun’s diplomatic career spanned thirty-three years, including serving as U.S. Special Representative for North Korea (2016-2018). In that position, Ambassador Yun led the State Department’s efforts to align regional powers behind a united policy to denuclearize North Korea. He was instrumental in reopening the “New York channel,” a direct communication line with officials from Pyongyang.
