White House names Sung Kim as next US envoy to Indonesia

“Ambassador Kim’s extensive history of public service at the Department of State, including as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, Director of the Office of Korean Affairs, Special Representative for North Korea Policy, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs,” the White House said. (Photo By United States Department of State, Public Domain)

MANILA — United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim is eyed as the next American top diplomat to Indonesia, the White House announced Thursday.

President Donald Trump’s plan to nominate Kim as the US Ambassador to Jakarta comes as the envoy nears the end of his tour of duty in the Philippines this year.

“Ambassador Kim’s extensive history of public service at the Department of State, including as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, Director of the Office of Korean Affairs, Special Representative for North Korea Policy, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs,” the White House said.

Kim earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, doctor of jurisprudence degree from Loyola University Law School, and Masters of Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Two years into his post as the US top diplomat in Manila, Kim received the Presidential Meritorious Honor Award in 2018.

Kim assumed his post in the Philippines last December 2016, replacing Philip Goldberg, who served from 2013 to 2016.

The announcement did not mention who will replace Kim as the next US envoy in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Manila denied rumors that Kim would be replaced by Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary of the State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.