Kang Kyung-wha, former Foreign Minister of South Korea and current CEO and President of Asia Society, has been officially appointed as South Korea’s new ambassador to the United States, the foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday. Her appointment marks the first time a woman has held the role in Seoul’s diplomatic mission to Washington.

Kang previously served as the country’s top diplomat from 2017 to 2021 during the presidency of Moon Jae-in. She now becomes the first U.S. envoy appointed under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

This is another milestone in Kang’s career. Her latest appointment is being seen as a strategic move, especially as speculation grows over a possible resumption of talks between North Korea and the United States.

Kang was at the forefront of South Korean diplomacy during the peak of negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang in 2018 and 2019, under U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

She is expected to play a key role in coordinating Trump’s upcoming visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, including possible summit talks between President Lee and Trump on the sidelines of the event.

Her new post also comes with major diplomatic responsibilities, including managing ongoing tariff discussions with the U.S. and responding to Washington’s calls for what it terms “modernization of the alliance.”

Born in 1955, Kang completed her undergraduate studies at Yonsei University in Seoul in 1977 and later earned a PhD in communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1984. She has extensive experience at the United Nations, having served as deputy high commissioner for human rights in 2007 and as deputy emergency relief coordinator for humanitarian affairs in 2013.