About the Author
Mintaro Oba
Mintaro Oba is a contributing analyst to NK Pro. He was worked as a political speechwriter and is a former Korea Desk Officer at the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. diplomat Joseph Yun likes to joke that his mother has a rule about Washington titles: the shorter it is, the more important the job. President? The most important. Vice President? Close.
So when Yun told his mother about his latest title – Special Representative for North Korea Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and Korea – she was hardly impressed, according to his retelling.