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Amid nuclear deadlock, top CIA official on Korea leaves for Google
A senior official at the CIA’s Korea Mission Center is leaving the agency to work for Google in Asia, according to two sources directly familiar with the matter, marking the second high-ranking employee to leave the division amid high-level talks between U.S. and North Korean officials on denuclearization.
Yong Suk Lee, the deputy assistant director of the Korea Mission Center, is highly respected within the Korea-watchers community as well as the intelligence community. Lee is “an institution” and his departure will be a “huge loss,” said one former CIA officer familiar with his work.
There was no indication Lee was leaving because of any tensions or problems with ongoing negotiations. But the former official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said Lee is the latest in a string of departures from the agency toward technology companies.
“Yong is excited to move to Singapore to work for Google Asia,” said a second person familiar with his new role.
Andy Kim, the former director of the center, retired in November and recently joined Stanford University as a visiting scholar. Kim declined an interview request, according to Stanford.
John Fleming, a career CIA officer, has taken over as head of the Korea Mission Center, according to the CIA.
“John Fleming has nearly three decades of CIA experience and shaped the Korea Mission Center — working with Andy Kim — since its inception in 2017,” wrote CIA spokesperson Tim Barrett in an email to Yahoo News. “In addition to his years on the North Korea issue, he also worked on CIA’s support to previous high-stakes negotiations in other regions.”
((([Google]))) declined to comment.
https://news.yahoo.com/amid-nuclear-deadlock-top-cia-official-on-korea-leaves-for-google-175743386.html