12/11/2017

AMBASSADOR/NOMINATIONS/SOUTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration will nominate as ambassador to Seoul a prominent Korea expert who favors a tough line on Pyongyang, filling a yearlong vacancy at the front lines of President Donald Trump’s biggest foreign-policy challenge.
The appointment of Victor Cha, a Georgetown University professor who served in the George W. Bush White House, would bring a well-established Korea hand with a hawkish reputation to Seoul at a time of concern in South Korea about Mr. Trump’s assertive approach to dealing with Pyongyang’s weapons program.
The U.S. has formally notified South Korea that it intends to nominate Mr. Cha, and, depending on the diplomatic and congressional approval process, he could be in place in time for the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Cha didn’t reply to a request for comment…
Ambassador Mark Lippert, a highly regarded Obama appointee who survived an assassination attempt in 2015, stepped down on inauguration day in January, in line with an edict from the incoming Trump administration.”

-Jonathan Cheng, “Trump Picks Korea Expert as Ambassador to Seoul,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 11, 2017 06:24am