2008.08.03: August 3, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Korea Times: Senate Confirms Nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea

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 : 2008.08.03: August 3, 2008: Headlines: COS - Korea: Diplomacy: Korea Times: Senate Confirms Nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea

By Admin1 (admin) (75.40.135.121) on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 7:10 am: Edit Post

Senate Confirms Nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea

Senate Confirms Nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea

The confirmation comes one day after Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) dropped his opposition to the endorsement of Stephens, a career diplomat. In opposing Stephens, he had cited a lack of effort on the part of the Bush administration to address human rights issues in North Korea. Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announced her confirmation soon after he presented a list of nominations containing her name. No objections were made. Stephens "is not attending" U.S. President George W. Bush's trip to Seoul next week, according to a White House National Security Council spokesperson. Appearing at the Senate just before the voting was conducted, Stephens told reporters in fluent Korean she "will organize a press conference for Korean correspondents in Washington next week." The incoming U.S. envoy still requires a diplomatic agreement from the South Korean government before she can officially replace incumbent Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, diplomatic sources here said. A former Peace Corps volunteer who taught English in Korea, Stephens began her foreign service career in 1978 and served twice in the country, most recently as principal officer at the consulate in Busan in 1987-1989, and as internal political unit chief from 1984-1987 in Seoul.

Senate Confirms Nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea

Senate Confirms Nomination of New US Envoy to Korea

The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Kathleen Stephens as Washington's new ambassador to Korea Friday, making her the first woman to hold the top diplomatic position in Seou, Yonhap News reported.

The confirmation comes one day after Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) dropped his opposition to the endorsement of Stephens, a career diplomat. In opposing Stephens, he had cited a lack of effort on the part of the Bush administration to address human rights issues in North Korea.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announced her confirmation soon after he presented a list of nominations containing her name. No objections were made.

Stephens "is not attending" U.S. President George W. Bush's trip to Seoul next week, according to a White House National Security Council spokesperson.

Appearing at the Senate just before the voting was conducted, Stephens told reporters in fluent Korean she "will organize a press conference for Korean correspondents in Washington next week."

The incoming U.S. envoy still requires a diplomatic agreement from the South Korean government before she can officially replace incumbent Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, diplomatic sources here said.

A former Peace Corps volunteer who taught English in Korea, Stephens began her foreign service career in 1978 and served twice in the country, most recently as principal officer at the consulate in Busan in 1987-1989, and as internal political unit chief from 1984-1987 in Seoul.

Stephens has been serving as principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs since 2005, focusing on the management of U.S. relations with Japan and Korea.

From 2003 to 2005, she was deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, addressing Kosovo's future status, the NATO-led mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the integration of the western Balkans in Euro-Atlantic institutions.

Stephens holds a B.A. in East Asian studies from Prescott College and a master's degree from Harvard University. She also studied at the University of Hong Kong and Oxford University.

She speaks fluent Korean and Serbo-Croatian, with limited competence in Cantonese and standard Chinese. She has one son, a student at Olin College of Engineering.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved her nomination in May, but Brownback requested a delay in a floor vote required for confirmation. Bush nominated her in January.

Brownback has also called for the Bush administration to address China's practice of repatriating North Korean defectors, as many observers suspect they face severe persecution in the communist state.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting Thursday, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill pledged to address North Korea's human rights abuses at the six-party talks on disabling North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

Hill also told the hearing that he will raise the issue of Korean-American Rev. Kim Dong-shik's abduction. Kim was taken to North Korea in 2000 while helping North Korean defectors seeking refuge in South Korea.

Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear envoy to the multilateral nuclear talks, also said he will invite the U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, to attend "all future negotiations with North Korea, except those specifically dealing with nuclear disarmament."

Lefkowitz cancelled his visit to the joint inter-Korean industrial complex in the border town of Kaesong, just north of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in late July after the shooting death of a South Korean tourist by North Korean soldiers near a resort in the communist country.

It would have been the first visit to the North by the envoy since his appointment three years ago. (Yonhap)




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: August, 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:


Contact PCOLBulletin BoardRegisterSearch PCOLWhat's New?

Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed
Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Date: October 27 2007 No: 1206 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."

Peace Corps News Peace Corps Library Peace corps History RPCV Directory Sign Up

July 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories Date: July 16 2008 No: 1245 July 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories
Sarah Chayes continues work in Kandahar 29 Jun
PCV Catherine Saltwick killed in Automobile Accident 2 Jun
Richard Stoll returns to Tonga for capitol’s rebuild 2 Jun
Peace Corps Reopens Program in Liberia 4 Jun
Tu Dang is a Foreign Affairs Officer 4 Jun
Bethany Hedt takes aim at AIDS with statistics 5 Jun
Expanding opportunities for deaf PCVs 5 Jun
Peace Corps/Kenya Program Reopening 6 Jun
José Klein is plate artist 9 Jun
Kenyan Prime Minister Visits PC Headquarters 19 Jun
Michael Meyer's writes "The Last Days of Old Beijing" 20 Jun
Chuck Ludlam writes: Congress Enacts PCV Tax Law 24 Jun
Dodd Speaks in Opposition to FISA Bill 24 Jun
Christopher Hill critical to success in Korea Talks 25 Jun
Mark Gearan writes: Hillary Clinton's Contribution 25 Jun
James Rupert writes: Pakistan Fights Taliban 27 Jun
Elaine Chao hails U.S.-China dialogue 28 Jun
Obituary for Bud Keith - Champion for Disabled 29 Jun
Life in prison for killer of PCV Julia Campbell 30 Jun
John Coyne writes: PC Archives at JFK Library 30 Jun
Mark Shriver to Chair National Commission on Children 30 Jun

New: More Stories from May and June 2008
June 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories Date: July 16 2008 No: 1247 June 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories
Senator ties up Kathleen Stephens appointment 1 May
Philip Dacey writes "The New York Postcard Sonnets" 31 May
Sophia Polasky writes: Luncheon with the president 30 May
Arnold Wendroff warns dangers of ritual use of mercury 30 May
Lynn Lurie writes “Corner of the Dead" 29 May
Obama Urges Grads To Serve Country 26 May
Nick Mucha promotes development at surf destinations 25 May
Don Crosby and wife serve in Thailand at 70 23 May
Matthew Handley pursued case of 12 murdered Nepalis 22 May
Zig and Irma Sokolnicki receive President's Award 21 May
Bruce Sterling writes: Steve Cisler RIP 20 May
Colorado to host Peace Corps Reunion in August 19 May
Hugh Pickens writes: Death Be Not Proud 17 May
Zachery Scott writes: Being a gay volunteer 14 May
PCVs in China Are Safe after earthquake 12 May
Louis Adams relives PC days in Morocco 12 May
Jemison say US leaders have made foolish decisions 11 May
Amy Smith's low-tech inventions have high impact 8 May
Bill Moyers on the 2008 Elections 8 May
Don Odermann creates Education Fund for Latin Players 5 May
Peter Hessler wins National Magazine Award 2 May

New: More Stories from April and May 2008

May 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories Date: May 2 2008 No: 1242 May 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories
Condoleezza Rice Visits PC Headquarters 28 Apr
Bush hosts PCVs at White House 29 Apr
George Derrick is Oklahoma's first PCV 27 Apr
Debate is Brewing over Older Volunteers 25 Apr
Peter Spiro Scaled Corporate Ladder at Microsoft 24 Apr
Ukraine PCV terminated after testing HIV positive 22 Apr
Strauss writes: PC never lived up to purpose or principles 22 Apr
Atlantic Publishing needs your help on PC book 21 Apr
Nicole Nakama follows in footsteps of Father as PCV 21 Apr
Jerry LaPre writes: The Children of Sierra Leone 21 Apr
Robert Blackwill quits lobbying firm 19 Apr
An Interview with Christopher R. Hill 18 Apr
Harris Wofford introduces Obama's Speech on Race 18 Apr
Matthews could Challenge Arlen Specter for Senate 16 Apr
Lee Myung-bak invites 1500 RPCVs back to Korea 15 Apr
Peace Corps looks forward to returning to Kenya 11 Apr
Kathleen Stephens Quizzed by Congress 11 Apr
Campbell murder trial ends; Verdict set for June 30 9 Apr
Dodd Calls for New Strategic Partnership in Americas 9 Apr
Jake Hooker wins Pulitzer Prize for "A Toxic Pipeline" 9 Apr
Sirleaf welcomes return of PCVs to Liberia 8 Apr

New: More Stories from March and April 2008

What is Wrong at the US Embassy in Bolivia? Date: February 10 2008 No: 1227 What is Wrong at the US Embassy in Bolivia?
Last summer Peace Corps Inspector General David Kotz cited the lack of cooperation from the US embassy in Bolivia in the search for missing Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III. Now a member of the US Embassy Staff in Bolivia is accused of asking Peace Corps Volunteers "to basically spy" on Cubans and Venezuelans in the country. Could US Ambassador Philip S.Goldberg please explain what is going on at the embassy that he has been running in La Paz since 2006?



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: Korea Times

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Korea; Diplomacy

PCOL41670
67


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: