President Moon Jae-in's nominee for foreign minister is to return home this week from New York to beef up preparations for a confirmation hearing, government sources said Wednesday.

On Sunday, Kang Kyung-wha was named the first foreign minister under the Moon government which was inaugurated on May 10. She has served as a special advisor on policy to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The nominee is to return home early Thursday morning after about 10 years in New York working for the UN, according to the sources.

She will go through a confirmation hearing to officially assume her duties, though parliamentary approval is not required. The hearing is expected to be held in mid-June.

Kang, if confirmed, will mark the country's first female foreign minister and also the first time in 14 years in which the ministry is headed by a person who didn't start as a career diplomat.

South Korea is currently facing daunting diplomatic challenges compounded by a months-long leadership vacuum in the wake of the presidential impeachment which forced Park Geun-hye out of office in March.

Some critics worry that Kang might not be well-suited for the post, citing her apparent lack of experience in handling North Korea's nuclear issue and diplomacy toward major powers including the US and China and Japan.

Family issues such as her daughter's dual nationality and a fake residential registration, mostly used in Korea to a favorable school assignment, are also expected to be targets of attack during the hearing. (Yonhap)