South Korea Thursday appointed its chief negotiator in nuclear cooperation talks with the United States as its new ambassador to Russia.

President Park Geun-hye picked the veteran diplomat, Park Ro-byug, to take up the post, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The president will award credentials to the diplomat later in the day.

Park Ro-byug led Seoul's years-long negotiations with Washington on their civilian nuclear energy partnerships. The two sides struck a deal last month that would pave the way for South Korea's access to low-enriched uranium program and research into pyroprocessing, a new type of reprocessing technology.

Park will replace Wi Sung-lac, who is to retire after a three-year stint in Moscow.

He served as ambassador to Ukraine from 2008 to 2011. He has since worked as special representative for South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation. 

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979 after studying international relations at Seoul National University.

He earned a diploma in the same subject at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1983. He also obtained his doctorate in history at Russia's Diplomatic Academy in 1993. (Yonhap)