New U.S. ambassador to South Korea set to take up post

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- The new U.S. ambassador to South Korea was set to arrive in Seoul on Thursday to take up his post, a U.S. embassy official said.

Sung Kim, a career diplomat with expertise on the North Korean nuclear issue, was sworn in last week as Washington's top envoy to Seoul, becoming the first Korean-American to take the job since the two nations established diplomatic relations 129 years ago.

Kim, who previously served as the top U.S. negotiator to the six-nation talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs, replaced Kathleen Stephens.

Kim was due to arrive at Incheon International Airport as of around 4:15 p.m. and make a brief statement, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Kim was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. in the 1970s before obtaining his U.S. citizenship in 1980. The diplomat has spent much of his career working on the Seoul-Washington alliance and the North Korean nuclear crisis. He is fluent in Korean.