Parliament adopts confirmation hearing report for spy chief nominee

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a confirmation hearing report for the country's spy agency chief nominee, paving the way for his official appointment amid heightened tensions over North Korea's missile launches.

The approval came a day after the parliamentary intelligence committee held a confirmation hearing for Kim Kyou-hyun, the nominee for National Intelligence Service (NIS) director.

Kim is known for his broad expertise on diplomacy and his versatile career ranging from defense to national security. He served as deputy national security adviser to former conservative President Park Geun-hye and has worked in several key posts, especially handling affairs related to the United States, since joining the foreign service in 1980.

During Wednesday's hearing, Kim said he will beef up intelligence capabilities on North Korea and make the NIS a top-class intelligence agency like Mossad of Israel.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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