New National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong said Thursday he feels a "tremendous responsibility" taking on the job at a critical time.
Cho made the remark to reporters at the presidential office, a day after he was picked by President Yoon Suk Yeol to replace Kim Sung-han as the national security adviser.
"It's a critical time, and I feel a tremendous responsibility assuming the position of national security adviser," he said.
Cho has been serving as South Korea's ambassador to the United States and was in Seoul this week to attend an annual meeting of chiefs of overseas diplomatic missions when he was abruptly given the new assignment with less than a month to go until Yoon's April 26 state visit to Washington.
"I believe a cornerstone has been properly placed over the past 11 months for the construction of a global pivotal state," he said, referring to an administrative goal of the Yoon government.
"It is my duty to return the favor by building a house upon that cornerstone with good contents so that the Yoon Suk Yeol government's administrative goal can be completed," he added.
Cho said he believes it is essential for all members of the presidential office, including the National Security Office, to work together as a team in order to reach that goal, and that he will also do his best.
Source: Yonhap News Agency