The White House's choice for U.S. ambassador to South Korea is no longer expected to be nominated after he privately disagreed with the Trump administration's North Korea policy, The Washington Post reported.
According to the Post, Victor Cha, an academic who served in the George W. Bush administration, raised concerns with National Security Council officials last December over their consideration of a limited strike on the North — known as a "bloody nose" strategy.
Cha also objected to the administration's threats to tear up a bilateral trade deal with South Korea that President Donald Trump has called unfair to U.S. companies, the Post reported.
The administration last week imposed new tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar energy panels.
South Korean diplomats in Washington were pressing the White House to formally nominate Cha to the Senate, hoping to have him in place in time for the Olympics on Feb. 9 in the South.
But a senior administration official told the Post the White House had moved on to other potential candidates.
"We have yet to nominate anyone for the post, but it is our intention to do so as soon as we can find the appropriate candidate," the unnamed official told the Post.
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