WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding Ambassador Joseph Yun’s announcement of his retirement:

“I’m sorry to learn of the retirement of Ambassador Joseph Yun, our accomplished senior diplomat spearheading U.S. diplomatic efforts on the Korean Peninsula. I thank Joe for his decades of service to our country and I wish him well. His retirement is another tremendous loss for the State Department, where the Trump Administration’s relentless assault on diplomacy has already decimated the senior ranks.

“Ambassador Yun’s departure also unfortunately worsens a diplomatic crisis of this Administration’s own creation. Now, with so many other senior positions vacant, the Department will be hard pressed to find someone as competent and experienced as Ambassador Yun to take on this work. They’d better act fast. At a time when the White House seems to be considering the use of military force—a decision that could have catastrophic consequences—we need our top diplomats, and this Administration has pushed too many to the exits.”

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