American Ambassadorship

[Anchor Lead]

The prominent American scholar on the Korean Peninsula Victor Cha was widely anticipated to be tapped as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, but Washington suddenly dropped him from consideration. The reason could be a disagreement between Cha and the Trump White House over North Korea policy.

[Pkg]

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert stepped down after President Donald Trump took office. For the past year, the post of top U.S. envoy to South Korea has remained vacant. Then came the news that Victor Cha who is Korea Chair at the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies was named as a candidate. It was known that process of securing agrément which are steps of approval from the host country were even concluded. In the latest development, U.S. media have reported that Victor Cha has been dropped from consideration for ambassador to Seoul. It's an unprecedented situation where a candidate was dropped even after the process of agrément was completed. The reason is not known. There is speculation that issues may have emerged in the course of further vetting Cha or that the candidate's policy stance on North Korea may have differed with the Trump White House. The Washington Post reports that Cha was suddenly dropped as a candidate because he argued against military strikes on North Korea. The newspaper said his objection to U.S. attempt to scrap the free trade agreement with South Korea also factored as a reason. In an opinion piece in the same newspaper, Cha earlier wrote that "giving North Korea a ‘bloody nose’ carries a huge risk to Americans." Victor Cha is seen as a hardliner on North Korea issues among Washington circles. His withdrawal is considered highly unusual amid growing concerns that finding a new candidate may take considerable time.