Trump Nominates Hooker as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs... Led North Korea Negotiations in First Term

Trump Nominates Allison Hooker as Under Secretary for Political Affairs
DiNanno, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Tapped for Arms Control Post
Currently Serving at U.S. Think Tank

Steven Biegun, Special Representative for North Korea Policy, and Allison Hooker, former White House National Security Council (NSC) Korea advisor, who are in Korea for working-level talks on the North America summit, are leaving a hotel in downtown Seoul on the morning of February 5, 2019. On the 11th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump notified the Senate that he would nominate former NSC Senior Asia Advisor Hooker as Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Allison Hooker, former National Security Council (NSC) Senior Advisor for Asia, who was responsible for North Korea negotiations at the White House during his first term, as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

According to the U.S. Congress on the 12th (local time), President Trump notified the Senate the previous day of his intention to nominate Hooker as Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

The Under Secretary for Political Affairs oversees the State Department’s regional and bilateral policy issues. Regional policy bureaus, including the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which handles Korea-related matters, fall under the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

Hooker served as a senior analyst at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 2001 to 2014. During the Trump administration (2017-2021), she was in charge of Korean Peninsula affairs at the White House and was deeply involved in the Trump-Kim Jong Un summits held in Singapore, Hanoi, and Panmunjom in 2018 and 2019.

Hooker is currently Senior Vice President at the American Global Strategies (AGS), chaired by former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, a close associate of President Trump. At one point, she was also considered a potential nominee for U.S. Ambassador to South Korea.

Thomas DiNanno, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State, has been nominated as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. The Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security is responsible for U.S. global security policy, including nonproliferation, arms control, regional security, defense relations, arms transfers, and security assistance. This position also serves as the State Department’s lead for the U.S.-ROK Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) high-level meetings.

DiNanno served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Policy, Emerging Threats, and Outreach at the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control from 2018 to 2020, overseeing missile defense and space policy. He is currently affiliated with the Hudson Institute, a think tank.

The Hudson Institute’s website notes that during his time as Deputy Assistant Secretary, he was also involved in U.S. extended deterrence policy with South Korea, Japan, and Australia. The U.S. extended deterrence policy refers to the nuclear and conventional military deterrence that the United States provides to its allies, aiming to protect not only the U.S. mainland but also its allies from external military and nuclear threats.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.