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A woman who as a member of the Peace Corps in the 1970s taught South Korean students English will arrive in Seoul as new U.S. ambassador this summer. Kathleen Stephens, former senior deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, has been appointed the next U.S. ambassador, diplomatic sources in Washington said last Thursday.
Stephens will arrive in Seoul in June or July once her nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The U.S. Senate does not appear to oppose her nomination. As senior State Department adviser, she is currently assisting chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill.
Stephens has a special relationship with South Korea. She taught English as a member of the Peace Corps in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province for two years from 1975. She watched the process of South Korea's democratization as a political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 1984. At the time, she established ties with South Korean political leaders, including former presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung and other government officials.
Stephens speaks fluent Korean and enjoys Korean food. Though regarded as a pro-Seoul diplomat, she had several rounds of arguments with the Foreign Ministry over North Korean issues and the question of establishing a peace framework on the Korean Peninsula after the Roh Moo-hyun administration was inaugurated.
Tall and blonde, Stephens obtained her BA from Prescott College and her MA from Harvard University.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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