The appointment at the end of December of Cho Tae-yong as director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea's main intelligence agency, demonstrates conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol's haste to refocus the country's intelligence and foreign policy strategy, amid growing threats from China and North Korea.

A career diplomat, Cho was previously deputy national security adviser, as was his predecessor, Kim Kyou-hyun (IO, 09/09/22). He was also ambassador to the United States from June