The State Department’s top diplomat in charge of North Korea policy told CNN Tuesday he will be retiring at the end of the week.
Joseph Yun said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accepted his resignation “with regret.”
“It was completely my decision to retire at this time,” said Yun, who is in his early 60s and joined the Foreign Service in 1985.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that Yun left for personal reasons.
“We are sorry to see him retire, but our diplomatic efforts regarding North Korea will continue based on our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) until it agrees to begin credible talks toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula,” Nauert said.
Yun led efforts to deter North Korea from nuclear ambitions during a year of heightened tensions between the oppressive regime and the U.S.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they appreciated Yun’s assistance in dealing with the Pyongyang, but had no further comment.
