(LEAD) Top U.S. officials express condolences over passing of Kissinger

▲ This AP file photo, taken June 5, 2015, shows former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaking during a media interview in New York. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Kissinger-mourning

(LEAD) Top U.S. officials express condolences over passing of Kissinger

(ATTN: ADDS Biden's message in paras 3-6)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- Top U.S. officials on Thursday mourned the passing of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger noted for his diplomatic acumen that guided America through foreign policy challenges of the Cold War era and beyond.

Kissinger, who served as the top U.S. diplomat from 1973-1977, died at the age of 100 on Wednesday, his aides said. His death prompted U.S. policymakers, diplomats and scholars to reflect on his legacy, including opening China to the Western world and pursuing detente with the then Soviet Union during the Cold War.

In his condolence message, President Joe Biden recalled the first time he met Kissinger during a briefing when he was a young senator.

"Throughout our careers, we often disagreed. And often strongly. But from that first briefing, his fierce intellect and profound strategic focus was evident," Biden said.

"Long after retiring from government, he continued to offer his views and ideas to the most important policy discussion across multiple generations," he added.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that Kissinger made "countless history-bending decisions" when he served as national security adviser and secretary of state.

"To serve as America's chief diplomat today is to move through a world that bears Henry's lasting imprint -- from the relationships he forged, to the tools he pioneered, to the architecture he built," the secretary said.

He also highlighted Kissinger's "strategic acumen and intellect" that led top American officials to seek his counsel.

"Including me -- whether I was traveling to China more than 50 years after his transformative trip, or seeking his counsel as we shaped our approach to artificial intelligence, on which he was thinking, writing, and advising prolifically, up to the final weeks of his life," Blinken said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed out Kissinger's long-running involvement with the Pentagon that spanned from his service in the U.S. Army during World War II.

"I sought his geopolitical perspective repeatedly over the course of my career and always found our exchanges thought-provoking," Austin said in a statement. "On behalf of the Department of Defense, I extend my deep condolences to his wife Nancy, his children Elizabeth and David, and the entire Kissinger family."

John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, also expressed condolences over the passing of Kissinger.

"It is a huge loss. Whether you agree with them or not, whether you hold the same views or not, he served in World War II, served this country bravely in uniform and for decades afterward, which I think we can all be grateful for," Kirby told a press briefing.

"Whether you saw eye to eye with him on every issue, there is no question that he shaped foreign policy decisions for decades and he certainly had an impact on America's role in the world. So again, our deepest condolences go to the family," he added.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sent a condolence message to the bereaved family, his office said.

In the message, Yoon said he highly assesses the efforts that Kissinger -- as a strategist that formulated the framework of U.S. foreign policy and as an international politics scholar -- made for world peace and freedom throughout his life, according to his office.

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