Yuri Kim sworn in as US ambassador to Albania

Yuri Kim speaking 

 Yuri Kim took the oath of office n Thursday as a US ambassador to Albania.

Ms. Kim was nominated by President Donald Trump in June this year. She has said she will urge Albania's leaders to resolve the current political stalemate in order to strengthen the prospect of opening EU membership negotiations.

Ms. Kim has also said she will encourage Albania to fully implement justice reforms. She said she sees as a priority the technical assistance to Albania in investigating, prosecuting and punishing transnational corruption and organized crime.

Ms. Kim is also expected to encourage Albania to achieve a 2 percent level of defense spending by 2024.

Yuri Kim is the first Korean-American woman to represent the US as an ambassador and the first person from the US territory of Guam to serve in such a post. She was born in Korea and raised on Guam Island, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

She has served in the State Department as Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs, Director of the State Department's Center for the Study of Diplomacy, Chief of Staff for Deputy Secretary of State and Director of the Office for European Security and Political-Military Affairs.