President Donald Trump has nominated US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Harry Harris as America's new Ambassador to South Korea ahead of his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month.
North Korea has warned that it might not attend the much-talked about summit between Trump and Kim, due to take place in Singapore on June 12, over being pushed "into a corner" on nuclear disarmament.
Leaders of North and South Korea held a meeting on April 27 and agreed to work to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.
The nomination of the 61-year-old commander is subject to conformation by the US Senate.
Admiral Harris earlier was nominated by Trump as his next envoy to Australia, but the president changed his mind and decided to send him to South Korea.
Currently serving as the 24th commander of US Pacific Command, Admiral Harris is a highly decorated, combat-proven Naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership and geopolitical expertise in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.
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A frequent visitor to India, Admiral Harris has been a strong advocate of India-US relationship. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1978 and was designated a naval flight officer in 1979.
He earned an MPA from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, MA from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, and attended Oxford University.
During his 40-year career, he served in every geographic combatant command region and has held seven command assignments, including the US Pacific Fleet, the US Sixth Fleet and VP-46.