National security staff head US delegation to South Korean president's inauguration

The American delegation to South Korean President Park Geun-hye's inauguration will be headed by President Obama's national security team, underscoring the country's strategic importance following Monday's nuclear test by North Korea.

The delegation will be led by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, the White House announced Friday. Also attending the Feb. 25 inauguration will be Daniel Russel, the senior director for Asian Affairs at the NSC, and Gen. James Thurman, the commander of U.S. armed forces in South Korea. America's ambassador to South Korea, Sung Kim, will also be part of the delegation.

The choice of delegation comes as the administration this week vowed to pursue further sanctions at the United Nations in retaliation for the nuclear test and reaffirmed America's commitment to protecting its allies from a North Korean attack.

“I would add to that that in his calls with Foreign Minister Kim [Sung-Hwan] of Korea and Foreign Minister [Fumio] Kishida of Japan,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday, “Secretary [of State John Kerry] reaffirmed our defense commitments to the R.O.K. and Japan, which, as you know, include the security provided by our extended deterrence commitments, including our nuclear umbrella and our conventional forces.”

The daughter of assassinated Korean strongman Park Chung-hee, Park Geun-hye was elected in December. She will be South Korea's first female president.

---