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U.S. to replace acting ambassador to Korea ahead of Trump visit

Published: 19 Oct. 2025, 18:18 Updated: 19 Oct. 2025, 19:23

In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore. [AP/YONHAP]

WASHINGTON — The United States is set to replace its acting ambassador to Korea, Joseph Yun, just ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Seoul for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, later this month.

Yun, who was appointed on Jan. 10 — days before the launch of the Trump administration — will complete his post in Seoul by Oct. 26, according to sources familiar with the matter. He is said to have privately informed acquaintances of his departure.

Speculation is growing that Kevin Kim, the Korean American deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. State Department, will succeed Yun. However, Kim is expected to serve in an acting capacity rather than as a formally appointed ambassador.

Unlike full ambassadorial positions, acting appointments do not require Senate confirmation and can be implemented immediately. Still, the appointment of a second acting envoy nearly nine months into Trump’s second term is considered highly unusual in the context of bilateral relations.

The reason behind Yun’s sudden replacement remains unclear. Some believe it may be related to his appointment under the previous Biden administration, marking him as a “holdover.” Others point to the possibility that Trump’s visit — and the potential for an impromptu meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — prompted the administration to send someone with more hands-on experience in Korean Peninsula affairs.

Kevin Kim, the Korean American deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. State Department [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Ongoing challenges in Korea-U.S. trade negotiations may also have influenced the decision. Replacing a retired diplomat with Kim, who is currently overseeing Korea policy at the State Department, could be seen as a move to improve efficiency and coordination during a sensitive diplomatic period.

Kim previously served as an aide to Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and worked under then-Special Rep. for North Korea Stephen Biegun during the Trump administration’s first term. From 2018 to 2020, Kim played a behind-the-scenes role in organizing the U.S.-North Korea summits and returned to take charge of Korea-related issues at the State Department with Trump's second term this year.

Trump’s first term also saw a prolonged vacancy in the ambassadorial post in Seoul, with former Ambassador Harry Harris appointed only in July 2018 — a year and a half into the administration. Now in Trump’s second term, the position has again gone unfilled for nine months. Among 20 major countries around the world, the U.S. currently lacks formal ambassadors in eight: Korea, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG TAE-HWA [[email protected]]