Kartman nominated as new KEDO secretary general

Charles Kartman, former special U.S. envoy for peace talks on the Korean peninsula, was nominated as the next secretary general of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), which is in charge of supporting the construction of light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea.

A high-ranking government official said Monday current KEDO secretary general Desaix Anderson`s official term ended in February and that Washington named Kartman as his successor. The KEDO executive council will discuss whether to approve the nomination of the new secretary general in its meeting in New York on March 22-23, he said.

Kartman earned a master`s degree in international relations at Georgetown University and served at the State Department since 1975. He was a political attache from 1987 to 1990 and worked from 1996 to 1999 in the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. He is now U.S. executive director of KEDO.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com