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Mariemont native confirmed as ambassador to S. Korea

By Deirdre Shesgreendshesgreen@enquirer.com

WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Cincinnati native Mark Lippert to be U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Thursday.

The 41-year-old Lippert has long been a trusted military and foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama – starting in 2008 during Obama’s first presidential run.

Most recently, he served as chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Before that, Lippert was the Defense Department’s assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs and the one-time chief of staff for the National Security Council.

Obama nominated the former Mariemont resident to be Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in May. The Senate confirmed him by a voice vote. (Campaign records show no donations from Lippert to the Obama campaign.)

During a confirmation hearing in June before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lippert said his previous experience prepared him to grapple with the tense relationship between North Korea and South Korea – notably the North Korean government’s nuclear weapons program.

“I continue to be vigilant about the stark threat that North Korea poses the U.S. homeland, to security on the peninsula, in the region, and around the world,” Lippert told the panel, according to his prepared remarks.

He said North Korea’s “continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology, its worldwide proliferation activities, and egregious human rights violations against its own citizens” would be at the top of his agenda.

“If confirmed, I will work closely with the leadership of the Republic of Korea to ensure we are fully aligned in our efforts to achieve the complete and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea and prevent proliferation of key technologies,” he said.

Lippert’s parents, Susan and James Lippert, still live in the Cincinnati area. ■