Korean-American CIA official plays role for Trump-Kim summit
By Choi Ha-young
Andrew Kim, head of the Korea Mission Center (KMC) under the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), appears to have played a leading role in coordinating the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated for June 12.
Kim accompanied Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his meeting with Kim Jong-un, Wednesday, as seen in photos released by the North's state-controlled media. After the release of the photos, Seoul government officials confirmed the identity of the silver-haired man.
He was sitting next to Pompeo, possibly to translate for him. Kim is fluent both in Korean and English. He retired from the CIA in early 2017 after serving as the chief of the CIA Seoul office. In May 2017, he was recruited by then CIA chief Pompeo, to lead the KMC.
In a press release to announce the role of the KMC, Pompeo said the center aims to integrate and direct the CIA's efforts against serious threats from North Korea. The KMC is the first country-specific unit of the spy agency.
In a foreign press photo, Kim was seen greeting Pompeo at the airport in Pyongyang, raising speculation that he might have arrived there earlier than the secretary of state for working-level talks.
Kim is known to have close ties with key South Korean officials who are leading the summit diplomacy to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue. Kim is a relative of Chung Eui-yong, President Moon Jae-in's top security adviser, the primary channel between Presidents Moon and Trump.
He graduated from the same high school as Chung and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, both of whom visited the North as Moon's special envoys in March and delivered Kim Jong-un's intention to have a summit with Trump.