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| ▲ This file photo, taken May 8, 2024, shows Elbridge Colby speaking during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Washington. (Yonhap) |
Pentagon nominee-confirmation
Senate confirms Trump's pick for Pentagon policy chief
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Yonhap) -- The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for under secretary of defense for policy, a post that could affect the United States' policy on the South Korea-U.S. security partnership.
The upper chamber approved Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official, for the Pentagon's No. 3 post in a 54-45 vote, according to reports. Colby served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development from 2017-2018 during the first Trump administration.
During a confirmation hearing last month, Colby threw his support behind efforts to bolster South Korea's role in the alliance with the U.S as he addressed a question over the ongoing efforts for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul.
He also stressed the "critical" Seoul-Washington alliance should continue to be updated to "reflect the broader geopolitical and military circumstances" facing the two nations.
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