2008.07.28: July 28, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Washington Post: Bush May Reach South Korea Before Ambassador Stephens Does
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Korea:
RPCV Kathleen Stephens, Ambassador to South Korea:
Kathleen Stephens: Archive of Previous Stories:
2008.05.01: May 1, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Yonhap News: Senator Sam Brownback ties up appointment of Kathleen Stephens as ambassador to South Korea to North Korean human rights :
2008.07.31: July 31, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Associated Press: Sam Brownback removes block on Kathleen Stephens to be US Ambassador to South Korea :
2008.07.28: July 28, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Washington Post: Bush May Reach South Korea Before Ambassador Stephens Does
Bush May Reach South Korea Before Ambassador Stephens Does
Stephens is a 30-year Foreign Service officer. She speaks Korean, served in the Peace Corps in the country, and even worked and lived there using a Korean name, Shim Eun-kyung, according to news reports. Her troubles appear to stem largely from her latest posting as deputy to Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy to the talks on North Korea. That puts Stephens on the wrong side of many conservatives, who distrust Hill and think the United States has given up too much in removing North Korea from its list of terrorist states and in easing trade restrictions against Pyongyang. ad_icon Stephens also had a one-on-one meeting that did not go well with Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who placed a hold on her nomination in April. Brownback said in a floor statement that Stephens was "highly qualified" but that he "did not get satisfactory answers" from her about human rights issues. He also criticized the State Department as unwilling to "confront the North Koreans on human rights abuses." Kathleen Stephens, appointed US Ambassador to South Korea, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea.
Bush May Reach South Korea Before Ambassador Stephens Does
Bush May Reach South Korea Before New Ambassador Does
By Dan Eggen
Monday, July 28, 2008; Page A15
P resident Bush plans to make a politically risky stop in South Korea early next month, after months of street protests over an accord on U.S. beef imports and continuing controversy over six-party nuclear talks with the neighboring communist dictatorship, North Korea.
But Bush will probably travel to Seoul without a new U.S. ambassador to greet him. Appointment of D. Kathleen Stephens, the administration's nominee, has been blocked since spring by Senate conservatives, who believe human rights issues should be more prominent in the North Korea talks.
Stephens is a 30-year Foreign Service officer. She speaks Korean, served in the Peace Corps in the country, and even worked and lived there using a Korean name, Shim Eun-kyung, according to news reports.
Her troubles appear to stem largely from her latest posting as deputy to Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy to the talks on North Korea. That puts Stephens on the wrong side of many conservatives, who distrust Hill and think the United States has given up too much in removing North Korea from its list of terrorist states and in easing trade restrictions against Pyongyang.
ad_icon
Stephens also had a one-on-one meeting that did not go well with Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who placed a hold on her nomination in April. Brownback said in a floor statement that Stephens was "highly qualified" but that he "did not get satisfactory answers" from her about human rights issues. He also criticized the State Department as unwilling to "confront the North Koreans on human rights abuses."
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said that "we share Senator Brownback's concerns about human rights abuses in North Korea, and are working with the Senate to ensure that Kathleen Stephens will be confirmed as soon as possible."
But several other conservative GOP senators support Brownback, and neither administration officials nor legislative aides see much chance of a breakthrough before Bush's trip to Asia, which also will take him to Thailand and the opening of the Summer Games in Beijing.
The impasse leaves the outgoing ambassador, Alexander Vershbow, still in place. He is viewed as taking more of a hard line on North Korea than Hill and his allies.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: July, 2008; Peace Corps Korea; Directory of Korea RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Korea RPCVs; Diplomacy
When this story was posted in August 2008, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them." |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Washington Post
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Korea; Diplomacy
PCOL41691
47