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New US ambassador to PHL is optimistic about US-PHL relations
Sung Kim, the new US ambassador to the Philippines, on Thursday promised better relations between the two countries, a report on Unang Balita on Friday said.
Because the US regards the Philippines as an important ally, Kim is hoping to help improve US-PHL relations, the report said.
Kim arrived in Manila on Thursday night to start his tour of duty as US envoy to the Philippines.
"I'm very eager to get started, very much looking forward to meeting as many Filipinos as possible and visiting many beautiful places in the Philippines. And I know that my staff at the embassy has arranged a very busy schedule for me," he told reporters upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Kim took his oath for his new diplomatic posting before US Secretary of State John Kerry on Nov. 3 in Washington D.C.
He is the first US ambassador to the Philippines who has an Asian heritage.
Before he was assigned to Manila, Kim was the Special Representative for North Korea Policy.
He concurrently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State since 2014.
Kim, who speaks English, Korean, and Japanese, studied at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Loyola University Law School in Los Angeles.
He also has a masteral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Kim has been assigned to various diplomatic posts in Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong.
Some four million Filipinos live in the US, while 250,000 Americans reside in the Philippines.
It may be recalled that President Rodrigo Duterte took a swipe against the US a few times and made controversial remarks against former US Ambassador Philip Goldberg. —KG, GMA News
