2/27/2018

AMBASSADOR/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/STATE: “Joseph Yun, the top U.S. diplomat on North Korea issues, said Tuesday [2-27-18] that he plans to retire this week, dealing a blow to Washington’s efforts at outreach to Pyongyang as the regime signals its interest in dialogue with the U.S.
Mr. Yun confirmed the news, reported earlier by CNN, in an email. But Mr. Yun, who was born in South Korea and is in his early 60s, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the reasons for his decision.
A statement from State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said he decided to retire for ‘personal reasons.’
The news comes days after a senior North Korean official, traveling to South Korea for the Olympic Closing Ceremony, said that Pyongyang would be open to talks with Washington.
Mr. Yun’s resignation from the State Department deprives Washington of another experienced North Korea hand. The post of U.S. ambassador to South Korea has been vacant since January last year… Mr. Yun, who previously served as ambassador to Malaysia, has been the main State Department point person on North Korea since 2016, when he was appointed by President Barack Obama… The seasoned diplomat had been engaged in behind-the-scenes communication with Pyongyang’s representatives to the United Nations in New York, according to people familiar with the matter, even amid a war of words between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the regime’s nuclear-weapons program.”

-Andrew Jeong and Jonathan Cheng, “Top U.S. Point Person on North Korea to Retire,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 27, 2018 01:26am