President Moon Jae-in walks alongside his four new ambassadors to the U.S., Japan, China and Russia, following an appointment ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 25. They are, from left, Lee Su-hoon, new chief of mission to Japan, Woo Yoon-keun, new ambassador to Russia, Noh Young-min, the new ambassador to China, and Cho Yoon-je, who will represent Korea in the U.S. (Cheong Wa Dae Facebook)

By Lee Hana

President Moon Jae-in presented credentials to his new chiefs of diplomatic missions to the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, at Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 25.

The newly appointed chiefs to the four countries are: Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je, Ambassador to China Noh Young-min, Ambassador to Russia Woo Yoon-keun and Ambassador to Japan Lee Su-hoon.

At the day`s appointment ceremony, President Moon said, "The U.S., China, Russia and Japan are the four countries that form the foundation of our diplomatic endeavors. This is the first time in my memory that we`ve appointed special envoys to all four countries."

The president stressed that now is the time for the new administration to build the foundation of its diplomatic policies, and said that the four ambassadors were the representatives for the government`s new philosophy.

Furthermore, the president said that as Korea expands its diplomatic relations with the EU and ASEAN, these four countries form the foundation of Korean foreign affairs.

"We are faced with some pressing issues, such as the North Korean nuclear weapons problem, and the task of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia. To address these issues, we need to be on firm ground with our diplomatic allies," he said.

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