Korean diplomat Kim Hye-jin, 29, will be working for the U.S. Department of State in a year-long personnel exchange program starting this August, according to the Korea Herald.

Kim, who currently serves the North Korean Nuclear Affairs Bureau in the South Korean Foreign Ministry, has previously worked in divisions that handled disarmament, protocol, and negotiations. After graduating from Seoul National University, Kim joined the ministry in 2005 and later spent two years abroad studying international conflict management and negotiation at Stanford University.

The exchange program was launched after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding this past April. An anonymous foreign ministry official told the Korea Times, “Kim’s deployment is clear proof of strong mutual trust between Seoul and Washington considering that the state department deals with a variety of diplomatically confidential information and Kim will have easy access to it.”

The U.S. State Department has not yet selected an official for the exchange program.

[Photo: Chosun Ilbo]