South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun nominated new ministers in
charge of foreign affairs, defense, unification and intelligence on
Wednesday to reshuffle his cabinet, the South Korea's Presidential
Office said.
Song Min-soon, who has served as Roh's chief security advisor
for about 10 months, was named as new foreign minister to replace
the outgoing Ban Ki-moon, the Presidential Office said.
Ban was elected as the next United Nations Secretary-General and
will take office next year.
?
Song is a veteran diplomat with more than 30 years of service in
South Korean Foreign Ministry.
He used to be South Korea's chief delegate for the six-party
talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula before working
as the president's top security advisor. He played a key role in
producing the Sept. 19 joint statement during the fourth round of
the six-party talks in Beijing last year, South Korea's Yonhap News
Agency reported.
The president also nominated Lee Jae-joung, former lawmaker of
the ruling Uri Party, as unification minister and Army Chief of
Staff Kim Jang-soo as new defense minister, the Presidential Office
announced.
Kim Man-bok, first deputy director of the National Intelligence
Service, was promoted to the director of the National Intelligence
Service (NIS), the Presidential Office said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)
