Outgoing US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said Tuesday that denuclearizing North Korea should remain a principle to continue pushing for, despite the challenges posed by the North's evolving nuclear and weapons development.
Goldberg made the remark as he was leaving his post in Seoul after a 2 1/2-year term, and less than two weeks before the second Donald Trump administration takes office Jan. 20.
"I believe that denuclearization is an important principle to follow and to continue pressing," he told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, ahead of his departure.
"It is important for nonproliferation reasons and for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Goldberg said,
Since the nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang broke down in early 2019, the recalcitrant regime has ramped up its nuclear weapons and missile development. It has also deepened its ties with Russia, through which it is suspected of obtaining advanced military technologies.
On Tuesday, the North confirmed it has test-fired an intermediate ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead, its first provocation this year.
Its growing belligerence has sparked calls in South Korea for building its own nuclear program and worries that the incoming Trump administration could shift its policy on North Korea to arms control negotiations.
Goldberg also confirmed reports that Joseph Yun, former US representative for North Korea under the Barack Obama administration, will assume office as the acting ambassador to South Korea until Trump appoints an ambassador.
"That's our intention. He will be the charges (d'affaires) in a few days," he said.
Regarding the political turmoil surrounding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, Goldberg held out optimism that the difficult times will pass.
"This is a great democracy that I think will continue to function. I also know that you'll get through them and that the Korean people will get through them," he said.
Goldberg described leaving Seoul, his last host country before retirement, as a "very sentimental moment."
"I'm leaving with a sentimental feeling, a bit of sadness, but also know there are other adventures as I get back to the United States, and a free life after 36 years in the foreign service," he said.
Goldberg, a career diplomat, took office as the top envoy to Seoul in July 2022. (Yonhap)
