U.S. Names New Korea Bureau Director

The lineup at the bureau handling Korea-related issues for the U.S. State Department will be drastically changed.

An official of the State Department announced April 18 that it appointed Gerald Anderson, a manager of the peacekeeping activity, regulation, and terror office, as the new director of the U.S. bureau handling Korean affairs.

Anderson is said to be fluent in Korean, thanks to his work as the secretary responsible for politics at the U.S. embassy in Seoul from 1987 to 1991. Anderson also worked with then U.S. ambassador to Poland Christopher R. Hill (the current Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs) while serving in Poland since 2000.

Korean-American Sung Kim (Korean name: Kim Sung-yong) was named as a successor to Deputy manager Ted Osius, who will work in India after leaving the bureau for Korean affairs.

Another Korean-American secretary, Yuri Kim (Korean name: Kim Yu-ri) was appointed to replace secretary Sue Bremner in charge of North Korean affairs.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com