An active South Korean colonel has been named a senior liaison officer of the United Nations' Integrated Operational Team, which oversees the world body's global peacekeeping operations (PKO), the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.
Col. Kim Ung-geon will be tasked with liasing between the U.N. Headquarters in New York and various PKO missions throughout the world on a wide range of issues from the establishment of new missions to the management of operating units, the ministry said in a statement.
As the former head of South Korea's 300-member contingent to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, Kim and his unit in the Middle Eastern country were awarded a U.N. medal by the Italian commander of the U.N. PKO forces there for their excellent achievements.
A graduate of the Korea Military Academy, Kim served in various command posts in the Army and served as a military attache at the South Korean Embassy in Kuwait from early 2004 until October 2005.
"Col. Kim is the fourth South Korean to advance to the United Nations Headquarters following Lt. Col. Lee Seung-hoon, who returned home in 2004 after working at the U.N. office," the statement said.
"The Ministry will continue to train its officials to international standards to help continue the tradition," it added.