U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

U.S. Department of State

Ambassador-Designate, Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks

Sung Y. Kim
Statement before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC
September 10, 2008

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I have had a life-long interest in Asia, and as a Foreign Service Officer, I have had the opportunity to spend much of my time working to advance U.S. interests in Asia. My direct involvement in the Six-Party Talks began with my tenure as Director for the Office of Korean Affairs, but in looking back at my 19 years of diplomatic service, I realize that my experience has prepared me well for this important assignment. As Political-Military Affairs Chief in Seoul, I worked closely with our military colleagues to strengthen our alliance with the Republic of Korea; as a political officer in Tokyo, I covered Japan's relations with China as well as North Korea; and as a desk officer in Washington a decade ago, I focused on a key aspect of our relations with China. The challenge posed by North Korea's nuclear program figured prominently in all of these assignments. Even my pre-State Department experience as a prosecutor in Los Angeles in some ways has been useful to my work in Six-Party negotiations.

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