South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun nominated Song Min-soon as new foreign minister, the Presidential Office said today.
Song, who has served as Roh's chief security advisor for about 10 months, is a veteran diplomat with more than 30 years of service in South Korean Foreign Ministry.
Song, 57, will take over the post of foreign minister from Ban Ki-moon, who is set to take office as United Nations Secretary- General next year.
Song 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.
Song majored in German literature at Seoul National University and joined the country's diplomatic service in 1975.