Seoul: South Korea's former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has been officially appointed as South Korea's ambassador to the United States, marking a historic first as Seoul's first female envoy to Washington, as announced by the Foreign Ministry.

According to Anadolu Agency, Kang, who served as South Korea's top diplomat from 2017 to 2021 during the presidency of Moon Jae-in, is the inaugural ambassador to the US under the current administration of President Lee Jae Myung. Her appointment follows her groundbreaking role as South Korea's first female foreign minister, during which she played a pivotal role in the North Korea-US summit diplomacy in 2018-19 under US President Donald Trump's first term.

Kang's responsibilities will include managing preparations for Trump's upcoming visit to South Korea for the APEC summit scheduled between October 31 and November 1, as well as facilitating summit discussions with President Lee. As the leading envoy of Seoul, she will also address significant diplomatic issues such as ongoing US tariff negotiations and efforts by Washington to modernize the bilateral alliance.

In a development earlier this year, Seoul and Washington reached a tentative agreement to reduce US tariffs on South Korean imports from 25% to 15%, contingent upon Seoul's agreement to invest $350 billion in the US. However, the two nations are yet to finalize the structure of the investment fund, and failure to do so could lead to the reinstatement of the 25% tariff on South Korean imports.

Kang brings a wealth of experience from her tenure at the United Nations, particularly in the field of human rights, having served as deputy high commissioner for human rights in 2007 and deputy emergency relief coordinator for humanitarian affairs in 2013.