After a year and a half, Trump fills key
South Korea post
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[June 30, 2018]
By David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After nearly a year
and a half in office, the Trump administration has succeeded in filling
one of the most important U.S. diplomatic posts, with the Senate
unanimously approving former Pacific commander Harry Harris as the next
U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
The Senate confirmed Harris's nomination in a voice vote late on
Thursday, and he is expected to take up his post in Seoul, which has
been vacant since U.S. President Donald Trump's January 2017
inauguration, in early July.
The retired admiral will take office at a time when South Korea and the
United States are working closely together to engage with North Korea to
try to persuade it to abandon a nuclear weapons program that now
threatens the United States.
That engagement led to an unprecedented summit between Trump and North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12, but protracted follow-on
negotiations are expected to be needed before any concrete deal with
Pyongyang.
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Harris, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and American father,
previously served as head of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, which
includes the 28,500-strong U.S. force in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.
At a Senate hearing this month, Harris backed the idea of a "pause" in
major U.S. military exercises with South Korea that Trump announced
immediately after the summit. Harris said this would allow time "to see
if Kim Jong Un is in fact serious about his part in negotiations."
While handing over his command on May 30, Harris said North Korea
remained the United States' most imminent threat and said "a
nuclear-capable North Korea with missiles that can reach the United
States is unacceptable."
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![](../images/063018pics/news_u41.jpg)
President Donald Trump arrives to receive a briefing from U.S. Navy
Admiral Harry Harris (L), commander of United States Pacific
Command, at its headquarters in Aiea, Hawaii, U.S. November 3, 2017.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Harris was initially nominated by Trump to be U.S. ambassador to
Australia but was asked in April by Mike Pompeo, now secretary of
state, to take the post in Seoul instead, as diplomatic efforts to
resolve the North Korea crisis intensified.
Apart from North Korea, Harris will face a tricky task managing the
U.S. trade relationship with South Korea, which Trump has repeatedly
criticized as unfair. Trump has also at times questioned the
usefulness of the long-standing U.S. alliance with South Korea and
called on Seoul to pay more for the U.S. troop presence.
The Trump administration has been criticized by opponents for
leaving key State Department positions unfilled, while the White
House has blamed Democrats for blocking nominations.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; additional reporting by Patricia
Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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