File Photo: (L-R) U.S. special envoy Joseph Yun, Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs chief Kenji Kanasugi, South Korean special representative Kim Hong-kyun shake hands during a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, April 25, 2017. The senior officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Tokyo amid rising tensions with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. special envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) policy Joseph Yun will resign from his post for personal reasons, media outlets reported Monday.

Yun, special representative for the DPRK policy and deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan, told the CNN that "it was completely my decision to retire at this time."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has reportedly "reluctantly accepted his decision and wished him well."

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said diplomatic efforts will continue "based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula."

Yun, in his 60s, joined the U.S. State Department in 1985. Once the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, he was appointed by former President Barack Obama onto his current post in 2016.

He came to the DPRK last June and brought back released U.S. citizen Otto Warmbier to the United States.

Combo photo of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. (Xinhua)

U.S. media said the departure of Yun, who has been supportive of solving the Korean Peninsula issues through dialogue, was due to his long disappointment over Donald Trump administration's provocations against the DPRK, and diplomats' lacking of speaking in the government's decision-making process.

Missile force of Korean People's Army attend a military parade in central Pyongyang, April 15, 2017. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) showcased its military muscles by parading all of its most-advanced ballistic and tactic missiles, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile which could strike targets 1000 km away. (Xinhua/Cheng Dayu)

Washington has pushed forward its "maximum pressure" campaign against the DPRK. Trump on Friday announced what he called the "heaviest sanctions" on the DPRK, a move that came amid signs of a growing rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula.</s>The US State Departments special representative for North Korea policy, Joseph Yun, has planned to step down on Friday (2 March), just as signs are emerging that Pyongyang may be willing to talk with Washington.</s>US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun arrives at a meeting with the media in Bangkok, Thailand December 15, 2017. Jorge Silva/Reuters
• Joseph Yun, the US State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, plans to retire for personal reasons.
• Yun traveled to North Korea last June to help secure the release of American student Otto Warmbier, who died days later.
• Yun said "it was completely my decision to retire at this time."

SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, Joseph Yun, plans to retire for personal reasons, amid signs Pyongyang may be willing to talk with Washington.

Yun has led the U.S. diplomatic outreach to North Korea since taking his post under former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.

Yun traveled to North Korea last June to help secure the release of American student Otto Warmbier, whose subsequent death further soured relations between Washington and Pyongyang.

U.S. President Donald Trump has charted a more confrontational approach to North Korea and its nuclear weapons program, forcing Yun to often operate under mixed White House messages of impending military strikes as well as diplomatic overtures.

"Ambassador Joe Yun, a respected member of the Senior Foreign Service, has decided to retire for personal reasons," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "has reluctantly accepted his decision and wished him ‎well," she added.

Yun told CNN "it was completely my decision to retire at this time."</s>Tokyo (CNN) The US State Department's top diplomat in charge of North Korea policy is retiring at the end of the week.

Joseph Yun, who is in his early 60s, told CNN Tuesday: "It was completely my decision to retire at this time." He said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accepted his resignation "with regret."

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Yun, who joined the Foreign Service in 1985, decided to leave for personal reasons.

"We are sorry to see him retire, but our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula," Nauert said.

Yun's abrupt departure raises questions and adds to uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's North Korea policy as ally South Korea engages in talks with the North for the first time in years. The veteran diplomat had a reputation as a proponent of dialogue when it comes to dealing with North Korea.

It had been Yun's job to help spearhead diplomatic efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions during a year of heightened tensions which appeared to ease with North Korea's participation in the Winter Games.

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was inappropriate to offer comment on Yun's retirement, though it said it appreciated Yun's efforts in dealing with North Korea.

"I think this is a huge loss for the US government at a critical moment," Abraham Denmark, the director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Denmark worked closely with Yun while the former served as the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia during the Obama administration.

"He was a great advocate for dialogue and for diplomacy, and I think it's unfortunate that his voice will no longer be in the conversation inside the US government," Denmark said.

While in Tokyo, Yun said during a rare press conference that he did not believe the US was close to using a military option, though it remained on the table.

"Our policy is based on putting pressure as well as leaving the door open for a dialogue," he said. "I think everyone wants to give diplomacy a good run."

A high-level North Korean delegation in South Korea for the Winter Games told officials there Sunday that the doors were open for dialogue with the US. The US has said it is willing to hold talks but intends to maintain a pressure campaign on Pyongyang to denuclearize.

Since his appointment as the US special representative for North Korea policy by the Obama administration in October 2016, Yun has been a key player in implementing US strategy and dealing with the limited bilateral relations maintained by the two countries.

Warmbier returned to the United States with significant brain damage and died just days later.

Yun's retirement raises further doubts over the Trump administration's North Korea policy and will likely fuel concerns that the State Department lacks the manpower and expertise to handle the complex negotiations regarding Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"This is the time where we need diplomats and Victor Cha is not there, Joseph Yun after Friday is not there," said Denmark. "There are still several terrific diplomats in place, but we need their voices to be prominent."

It's not clear to what extent Trump is committed to diplomatic efforts to peacefully solve the North Korea nuclear crisis.

At a news conference Friday, Trump said "if we can make a deal, it would be a great thing and if we can't, something will have to happen."

However, in October, the President appeared to dismiss the State Department's diplomatic efforts when he tweeted that Tillerson was "wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Regardless of what (Yun's) reasons are, it is very clear that this administration and in particular the White House does not prioritize diplomacy in foreign policy in writ large and on North Korea in particular," said Michael Fuchs, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the State Department who worked directly with Yun.

"What really is concerning is the language that we've been hearing out of National Security Adviser (H.R.) McMaster and President Trump and others at the White House about the possibility of military action."

Yun has traveled the globe tackling North Korean issues, traveling everywhere from Southeast Asia to Russia. His former colleagues describe him as thoughtful, knowledgeable, prepared and funny -- the consummate diplomat.

"Without a doubt, this is a huge loss for the State Department and our policy on North Korea," said Fuchs.</s>The US State Department's top diplomat in charge of North Korea policy is retiring at the end of the week.

Joseph Yun, who is in his early 60s, told CNN Tuesday: "It was completely my decision to retire at this time." He said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accepted his resignation "with regret."

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Yun, who joined the Foreign Service in 1985 decided to leave for personal reasons.

"We are sorry to see him retire, but our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula," Nauert said.

Yun's abrupt departure raises questions and adds to uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's North Korea policy as ally South Korea engages in talks with the North for the first time in years. The veteran diplomat had a reputation as a proponent of dialogue when it comes to dealing with North Korea.

It had been Yun's job to help spearhead diplomatic efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions during a year of heightened tensions which appeared to ease with North Korea's participation in the Winter Games.

"I think this is a huge loss for the US government at a critical moment," Abraham Denmark, the director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Denmark worked closely with Yun while the former served as the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia during the Obama administration.

"He was a great advocate for dialogue and for diplomacy, and I think it's unfortunate that his voice will no longer be in the conversation inside the US government," Denmark said.

Yun's retirement came as a surprise to many. He was in South Korea and Japan earlier this month to speak with senior government officials from both countries about North Korea issues.

While in Tokyo, Yun said during a rare press conference that he did not believe the US was close to using a military option, though it remained on the table.

"Our policy is based on putting pressure as well as leaving the door open for a dialogue," he said. "I think everyone wants to give diplomacy a good run."

A high-level North Korean delegation in South Korea for the Winter Games told officials there Sunday that the doors were open for dialogue with the US. The US has said it is willing to hold talks but intends to maintain a pressure campaign on Pyongyang to denuclearize.

Since his appointment as the US special representative for North Korea policy by the Obama administration in October 2016, Yun has been a key player in implementing US strategy and dealing with the limited bilateral relations maintained by the two countries.

US-North Korea relations became increasingly fraught in 2017 when Pyongyang tested long-range missiles it said could reach the US mainland and Washington spearheaded punitive sanctions against the Kim Jong Un regime.

Yun was also instrumental in securing the release of Otto Warmbier, an American college student detained in North Korea for more than a year. Yun and a medical team went to North Korea to pick him up last June.

Warmbier returned to the United States with significant brain damage and died just days later.

Yun's retirement raises further doubts over the Trump administration's North Korea policy and will likely fuel concerns that the State Department lacks the manpower and expertise to handle the complex negotiations regarding Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Not only is the State Department dealing with an exodus of career diplomats, top posts that deal with North Korea affairs also remain unfilled.

The Senate has yet to confirm Susan Thornton as the chief diplomat for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, though she has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since March 2017. She was officially nominated in January.

And the White House hasn't yet appointed an ambassador to South Korea. In January sources told CNN the long-rumored candidate, Victor Cha, would no longer be nominated. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Cha expressed opposition to the White House's consideration of limited military action in North Korea.

"This is the time where we need diplomats and Victor Cha is not there, Joseph Yun after Friday is not there," said Denmark. "There are still several terrific diplomats in place, but we need their voices to be prominent."

It's not clear to what extent President Trump is committed to diplomatic efforts to peacefully solve the North Korea nuclear crisis.

At a news conference Friday, Trump said if "if we can make a deal, it would be a great thing and if we can't, something will have to happen."

However, in October, the President appeared to dismiss the State Department's diplomatic efforts when he tweeted that Secretary Tillerson was "wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Regardless of what (Yun's) reasons are, it is very clear that this administration and in particular the White House does not prioritize diplomacy in foreign policy in writ large and on North Korea in particular," said Michael Fuchs, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the State Department who worked directly with Yun.

"What really is concerning is the language that we've been hearing out of National Security Adviser (H.R.) McMaster and President Trump and others at the White House about the possibility of military action."

Yun has traveled the globe tackling North Korean issues, traveling everywhere from Southeast Asia to Russia. His former colleagues describe him as thoughtful, knowledgeable, prepared and funny -- the consummate diplomat.

"Without a doubt, this is a huge loss for the State Department and our policy on North Korea," said Fuchs.</s>A top U.S. diplomat overseeing North Korea policy is retiring, the State Department confirmed Monday, a decision that could further hobble U.S. efforts to pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal.

The departure of Joseph Yun, expected Friday, also is likely to raise more concerns about a thinning of the ranks at the State Department, where many top officials have quit since the start of the Trump administration.

Yun, who joined the Foreign Service in 1985, has been serving as the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy. He is a well-regarded diplomat tackling one of the toughest assignments in the U.S. government.

Yun did not respond to a request for comment as to why he is leaving now. But CNN quoted him as saying the decision was "completely" his own. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had accepted Yun's resignation "reluctantly."

The Trump administration is spearheading a global campaign, primarily using sanctions, to push Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program. But the White House also is reportedly considering a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea, an action many experts and officials warn could result in a catastrophic number of deaths if Pyongyang retaliates.

Tillerson has pushed for talks with the North Koreans, and President Donald Trump has in recent months indicated an openness to that idea. North Korea, which participated in the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea, has also given signs it may agree to some talks. As a U.S. special representative, Yun would have played a major role in such talks.

Last year, Yun helped negotiate the release of Otto Warmbier, a young American held prisoner in North Korea. Warmbier was evacuated to the U.S. in June in a vegetative-like state, with brain damage, and died soon afterward.

Yun's retirement also comes as the United States lacks an ambassador in South Korea. Victor Cha, an expert on the Koreas who served in the George W. Bush administration, was the leading candidate for that position, but he was dropped reportedly after expressing concerns about the idea of a pre-emptive military strike.

Nauert said that although the State Department is sorry to see Yun retire, "our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the [North] until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula."

Yun is one of many high-ranking U.S. diplomats who have retired or otherwise quit under Tillerson.

Tom Shannon, the undersecretary of state for political affairs and the highest-ranked career official at the department, announced a few weeks ago that he will retire once his replacement is ready to take over.

The secretary of state has left numerous leadership positions at the State Department unfilled since taking over 13 months ago. Critics fear Tillerson, a former ExxonMobil CEO, is trying to hollow out a critical institution and that the damage to U.S. diplomacy could last years. Tillerson has acknowledged he's been slow to fill many jobs, but he has said those positions are being handled well by other U.S. officials in an acting capacity.

Yun, who has degrees from the University of Wales and the London School of Economics, has held several roles during his diplomatic career, including serving as U.S. ambassador to Malaysia.</s>The U.S. State Department sought to ease concerns on Tuesday about the departure of its senior diplomat on North Korea policy, saying it had a "deep bench" of people who would be able to step in after the retirement Ambassador Joseph Yun.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department sought to ease concerns on Tuesday about the departure of its senior diplomat on North Korea policy, saying it had a "deep bench" of people who would be able to step in after the retirement Ambassador Joseph Yun.

"The State Department has 75,000 people that work for us around the world. To imply that Ambassador Yun is the only one that is capable of handling North Korea would simply be wrong," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing.

"We have a deep bench of very experienced people," she added, citing acting Assistant Secretary Susan Thornton, the top official for East Asia affairs, and several other diplomats.</s>The Trump administration suffered another setback with the announcement that Joseph Yun, the U.S. special representative on North Korea policy, will be retiring:

The State Department’s point-man on North Korea, Joseph Yun, will leave his post on Friday, even as there are glimmers of hope that Pyongyang might finally be willing to sit down for talks with Washington. Yun, 63, is retiring as special representative for North Korea policy and deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan after more than three decades of service. His departure reflects the widespread frustration within the State Department at diplomats’ relative lack of power in the Trump administration [bold mine-DL], according to someone familiar with Yun’s thinking. It will leave another gaping hole in the United States’ staffing on Korean issues. Washington has still not nominated an ambassador to South Korea, 13 months into the Trump administration. Victor Cha had been in the running for the job, but the administration abruptly scrapped his candidacy last month.

Yun’s retirement is part of the larger hollowing out of the State Department that has taken place over the last year under Tillerson, and it offers a little more evidence that the administration has no real interest in a diplomatic solution to the standoff with North Korea. The withdrawal of the Cha nomination showed that the Trump administration doesn’t care for regional experts that aren’t on board with their aggressive posturing. Now it seems that at least one of the top career diplomats with relevant regional expertise doesn’t see much point in staying on. Yun’s retirement deprives the administration of a valuable and knowledgeable advocate of engagement, and there were not many of those to start with.

There are mounting costs to the administration’s disdain for diplomacy and its determination to weaken the State Department, and this is one of them. If this were an isolated case, it might be possible to dismiss it as unrepresentative and not very significant, but in light of the hemorrhaging of personnel from the State Department over the last year the latest announcement takes on greater weight. The exodus of career diplomats is happening because they have concluded that the president and Secretary of State don’t value their knowledge and experience and have no interest in making use of them, and there is nothing to suggest that they are wrong to draw that conclusion.

The Yun retirement will further hamper an advocate for engagement with North Korea when that is needed more than ever, and it probably means that the administration has no interest in listening to what Yun has to tell them. That bodes very ill for the future of U.S. North Korea policy.</s>Joseph Yun, the 30-year veteran of the US foreign service who retained quiet contacts with North Korea through the Trump administration’s turbulent first year, will retire this week – just as Washington and Pyongyang step up considerations for formal diplomatic talks.

Yun will stand down as special representative for North Korean policy on Friday. He said his decision to retire was entirely his own but it comes at a surprising juncture, just as South Korea relayed that the North is open to direct discussions with the US.

His departure will leave the Trump administration without an envoy for engaging North Korea or an ambassador in South Korea.

Yun, a former US ambassador to Malaysia, has been the state department’s point-man for its limited contact with the North Korean government through a back channel at the nation’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York. The adversaries from the Korean war do not have formal relations and the so-called “New York channel” is the primary means for conveying messages.

“One of my accomplishments has been to open the New York channel soon after the Trump administration got in,” Yun told the Associated Press. “That allowed for direct talks and direct communication. Really, there is no problem with communicating. It’s problems of engagement that have been difficult.”

Yun visited Pyongyang in June to secure the release of US college student Otto Warmbier, who had been imprisoned for 17 months for stealing a propaganda poster. Warmbier died days after his repatriation.

Yun has been frustrated by North Korea’s reluctance to release the remaining Americans held in North Korea and discuss its nuclear weapons program, which Donald Trump has threatened to dismantle by force if necessary.

A state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said Yun retired for personal reasons, which the diplomat confirmed. The secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, “has reluctantly accepted his decision and wished him well”, Nauert said.

“We are sorry to see him retire but our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula.”

It was not immediately clear who would replace Yun or if the vacancy would be filled with a US official maintaining closer ties to Trump.

The ambassador post in South Korea has been vacant for the past year, adding to questions about the direction of US policy as Trump has vacillated between talk of war and willingness to speak directly with leader Kim Jong-un.

A rapprochement between the two Koreas, inspired by South Korea’s recent hosting of the Winter Olympics, offers a glimmer of hope for diplomacy. During Sunday’s closing ceremony the office of the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, reported that a North Korean delegate said his country has “ample intentions of holding talks with the United States”.

Trump is determined to stop Kim’s government perfecting a nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the US mainland. On Monday, Trump responded to the North’s reported overture by saying talks will happen only “under the right conditions”.

The North has not tested a nuclear device or ballistic missile for months. But the US has pressed on with ever tougher sanctions, including a new set on the North’s shipping capabilities. Trump warned last week that if sanctions fail, the US would move to “phase two” in its pressure campaign, which could be “very rough” and “very unfortunate for the world”.

Victor Cha, a Washington-based Korea expert who had been regarded as Trump’s choice for ambassador to South Korea but was ultimately rejected, recently wrote that some administration officials were considering preventive military action against North Korea.</s>SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department’s special representative for North Korea policy, Joseph Yun, plans to retire on Friday, just as signs are emerging that Pyongyang may be willing to talk with Washington.

The South Korean-born Yun has led the U.S. outreach to North Korea, quietly pursuing direct diplomacy, since taking his post under former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.

But his authority to negotiate with North Korea appeared to be undercut by the tug-of-war between the White House and State Department over the direction of North Korea policy under President Donald Trump.

Yun, a 32-year foreign service veteran, traveled to North Korea last June to help secure the release of comatose American student Otto Warmbier, whose detention and subsequent death further soured relations between Washington and Pyongyang.

His departure comes amid glimmers of hope for a diplomatic opening between Pyongyang and Washington.

In the latest attempt to defuse the crisis over North Korea’s weapons program, South Korea urged Washington and Pyongyang to give ground to allow for talks, and U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated he would negotiate with North Korea, but only under the right conditions.

“Ambassador Joe Yun, a respected member of the Senior Foreign Service, has decided to retire for personal reasons,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “has reluctantly accepted his decision and wished him ‎well,” she added.

Yun told CNN “it was completely my decision to retire at this time”, but he declined to comment to Reuters when asked in an email why he was leaving.

Serving under an administration often riven by divisions over how to handle Pyongyang, Yun has sought direct diplomacy with North Korean officials at the United Nations, a senior State Department official told Reuters late last year.

Despite the daunting obstacles, Yun told colleagues and others he hoped his diplomatic efforts would lower the temperature in a dangerous nuclear stand-off, according to Reuters interviews with current and former U.S. officials and South Korean diplomats late last year.

Most were deeply skeptical about his chances.

“He’s such a dreamer,” a White House official said at the time, with a note of sarcasm.

Many Korea observers lamented Yun’s departure at a time when relations between Pyongyang and Washington are at a nadir.

“He is a consummate diplomat. Thoughtful, experienced, knowledgeable, and effective,” former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark said of Yun on Twitter. “A huge loss for the U.S. government at a critical moment.”

South Korea’s foreign ministry said it had been aware that Yun planned to step down and said the South Korean government “highly appreciates Yun’s role while he was serving as U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy.”

Yun’s departure comes as Trump has yet to nominate an ambassador to South Korea, and the administration’s failure to fill that post and a number of other key foreign policy positions has brought criticism in Congress and among former U.S. official and experts.

Nauert said despite the shakeup “our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula.”
United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Y. Yun announces his retirement, effective 2 March.