Victor Cha has been dropped as the U.S.’s nominee to be ambassador to South Korea, a source independently confirmed to NK News on Tuesday evening EST.

The decision not to appoint Cha, a former National Security Council (NSC) senior director under the George W. Bush administration, comes as a surprise to many: the U.S. government had already obtained South Korea’s official agreement – known in diplomacy as agrément – to appoint him ambassador to Seoul roughly a month ago.

Rumors that Cha, currently employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as a Senior Adviser and inaugural