New U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg starts his term in S. Korea

Philip Goldberg, the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, arrived in Seoul on Sunday, filling the gaps left open for the past one and a half years since his predecessor Harry Harris left the country last January.

Before leaving for Seoul, Ambassador Goldberg briefly told reporters upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport that he is pleased to arrive in Seoul.

Mr. Goldberg is considered one of the key hawkish leaders who engaged deeply in executing sanctions on North Korea during the Obama administration. Serving as the coordinator for U.N. sanctions on North Korea in the U.S. State Department from 2009 to 2010, he took the helm of executing the U.N. resolution No. 1874 on North Korea adopted following the regime’s 2nd nuclear test in May 2009.

Back then, he called on China to join the North Korea sanctions, emphasizing the principle of raising a unified voice with a unified purpose in mind. In April, he defined North Korea as a “rogue regime” in his confirmation hearing in the Senate Committee on Foreign Services, stating that Washington should maintain a firm and constant viewpoint of CVID or complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program.

Mr. Goldberg is a well-known diplomatic veteran with the highest title of career ambassador among diplomats. He is the first career ambassador to be appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea in seven years since former ambassador Sung Kim, the incumbent US special envoy for North Korea, came to the country.


Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com