Campbell chosen as U.S. State Department`s chief Asia diplomat: sources

(ATTN: UPDATES with Hill's remarks, other details throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Kurt Campbell, former U.S. deputy assistant
secretary of defense, has been named to replace Christopher Hill as the assistant
secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under the incoming Obama
administration, sources here said Thursday.
There has been much talk surrounding the fate of Assistant Secretary Christopher
Hill, with some saying he will continue his role as the head U.S. delegate to the
six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and others saying he
will quit to seek a position in the private sector.
Hill would not discuss his future, but refuted reports that he turned down a
proposal by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton that he continue to work
for the State Department.
"I have never been offered any job," he said.
State Department deputy spokesman, Gordon K. Duguid, said he could not
officially confirm if Campbell has been named, just saying personnel affairs
involving officials below the level of undersecretary will be made a bit clearer
next week.
Campbell, currently head of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a
private think tank, met with a group of South Korean officials and scholars
Wednesday to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions and other issues of mutual
concern, a source said.
Another source said that Campbell's meeting with the South Korean delegation was
held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on a closed-door basis
due to the sensitivity of the timing.
"We've decided not to reveal who attended the meeting as some of them await
congressional confirmation hearings," the source said.
Among the South Korean participants at the meeting were Kim Tae-hyo, presidential
secretary for national strategy, Han Sung-joo, former South Korean foreign
minister, and Wi Sung-lac, special assistant to Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.
Campbell has to go through a congressional confirmation hearing along with other
assistant secretary-level officials sometime in the coming weeks, after
Cabinet-level officials complete their confirmation hearings.
Secretary of Health and Human Services-designate Tom Daschle had his hearing on
Thursday, the first of the Obama administration which takes office on Jan. 20.
Clinton's confirmation hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Campbell also serves as director of the Aspen Strategy Group and as chairman of
the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly.
Jeffrey Bader, a senior researcher at the Brookings Institution, will likely
serve as senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.
Frank Januzzi, a key foreign policy adviser for the Obama's campaign, will either
be Campbell's deputy or work for the office of Vice President-elect Joseph Biden,
the sources said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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