Donald Trump has nominated Korean American John Noh to lead U.S. security policy for the Indo-Pacific region, according to a notification sent to the Senate on June 3.
Noh, who currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, has been acting in the role of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. He has now been officially nominated to take on the position full-time.
The Assistant Secretary is responsible for shaping security policy and strategy for key countries in the Indo-Pacific, including South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India. The role was previously held by Ely Ratner under the Biden administration, who stepped down following the change in government.
John Noh is a graduate of Stanford Law School. Before joining the Department of Defense, he worked on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Earlier in his career, he served as a lawyer, federal prosecutor, and U.S. Army officer, leading an infantry platoon in Afghanistan.
