Korean-American diplomat awarded rank of ambassador

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has accorded C.S. Eliot Kang, deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear affairs, the rank of ambassador ahead of his participation in an international conference on the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the State Department said Wednesday.

The appointment became effective on Monday, the department said in a release.

Kang, a Korean-American expert on international security, will lead the U.S. delegation to the Diplomatic Conference from Feb. 9-13 at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. He will continue to serve as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, the department said.

Kang joined the State Department in 2003 and served as a senior adviser in the Arms Control Bureau. A former tenured professor, Kang taught international security at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois University and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution, according to the department.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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