U.S. Senate set to vote on ambassador nominee to S. Korea

The U.S. Senate plans to hold a vote Thursday (local time) on whether to approve Mark Lippert as the new ambassador to South Korea.

A diplomatic source in Washington said that the Senate will hold a confirmation vote on nominees for Lippert along with the U.S. ambassador to Ireland and others. Having served as the White House`s deputy national security director and National Security Council chief of staff, Lippert is one of U.S. President Barack Obama`s closest aides.

Lippert`s nomination passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June but has been stuck in the Senate as Republicans refused to vote on his nomination, claiming he is a "political nominee." The vote was not expected to take place until the November mid-term elections end. It seems that the Senate plans to handle his nomination sooner than expected because of the political consensus in the U.S. political circles that the vacuum in the Korea policy line should not last any longer. At a time when North Korea has been detaining three U.S. citizens for an extended period of time, Washington cannot afford to leave the post of U.S. ambassador to Seoul, a key post of its North Korea policy, for a long time in order to send effective messages to Pyongyang.

In addition, with the Islamic extremist group ISIS issue having become the top U.S. diplomatic issue, the Republicans` justification or drive for any further delay in Lippert`s confirmation has weakened.

If the Senate confirm‍s Lippert`s nomination, he reportedly plans to immediately start preparing to proceed to his post. Lippert, who will likely be the youngest U.S. ambassador to South Korea ever, is reputed to have rich experiences in policymaking as he has advised Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. The U.S. State Department recently tapped Sung Kim as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,