WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Amid a series of departures of senior Korea specialists in the U.S. Congress, concerns are growing over possible losses to the formulation of U.S. strategy on the peninsula.
Keith Luse, Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff member for East Asia, will soon leave Congress, as Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, lost the primary for a seventh term earlier this year, according to congressional sources.
Luse has worked as Lugar's eyes and ears for nearly 30 years, especially on Asian issues.
The senator has gained fame for his tireless efforts on diplomatic issues, highlighted by his proposal, jointly made with former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, to safeguard the Soviet Union's vast arsenal of nuclear as well as chemical and biological weapons.
Luse has provided many policy ideas on Lugar's legislative activities, particularly on the Korean Peninsula.
Longtime Senate staffer and respected Asia hand Frank Jannuzi, who was the Democratic counterpart to Luse, left Congress in March.
Jannuzi, who worked as a key aide to Sen. John Kerry for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is currently deputy executive director of Amnesty International of the U.S., and head of the Washington, D.C., office.
His Senate service included work on the North Korea Human Rights Act.
"Those Korea experts in Congress have played a role as a main channel in South Korea's consultations on North Korea, the alliance with the U.S. and other issues," a source said, requesting anonymity. "But the departures of Keith Luse and Frank Jannuzi raise worries over future consultations."
Fortunately, however, key House staffer Dennis Halpin is expected to stay in Congress, added the source.
Halpin, the former U.S. consul general in Busan and a Korea expert, is an adviser to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.