By Kang Hyun-kyung
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated confidant Mark Lippert, 41, as the new ambassador to Korea to replace the outgoing Ambassador Sung Kim, Thursday, the White House said.
The White House said that Lippert is assistant defense secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs and is Obama's choice for the job.
Lippert must be approved after a Senate confirmation hearing.
Analysts say the new U.S. ambassador may take the job in September, but the timing will be affected by the confirmation process.
Lippert is Obama's key foreign and defense policy advisor.
He worked for then Senator Obama from 2005 to 2008, and worked for his 2008 presidential campaign.
Lippert is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's chief of staff. He served as an intelligence officer of National Special Operations Forces for two years.
Kim is nearing the end of his third year on the job, the normal length of such a tour of duty.
North Korea is expected to be Lippert's top priority as the communist state under its young dictator is conducting a purge and resorting to the nuclear brinkmanship by threatening a fourth nuclear test.
 |
| Mark Lippert, nominee for U.S. ambassador to Korea |
The White House said that Lippert is assistant defense secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs and is Obama's choice for the job.
Lippert must be approved after a Senate confirmation hearing.
Analysts say the new U.S. ambassador may take the job in September, but the timing will be affected by the confirmation process.
Lippert is Obama's key foreign and defense policy advisor.
He worked for then Senator Obama from 2005 to 2008, and worked for his 2008 presidential campaign.
Lippert is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's chief of staff. He served as an intelligence officer of National Special Operations Forces for two years.
Kim is nearing the end of his third year on the job, the normal length of such a tour of duty.
North Korea is expected to be Lippert's top priority as the communist state under its young dictator is conducting a purge and resorting to the nuclear brinkmanship by threatening a fourth nuclear test.
![[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/75c261156ac7415fad92dc1d7c1b30cf.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Foreign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/4a6b2bd3d23044d699dee3c5bb956863.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
