US envoy in Australia says Adm. Harris is needed in Seoul

CANBERRA, Australia — The acting U.S. ambassador to Australia said on Thursday the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, is the best envoy to represent the United States in South Korea.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday that Harris will not become Washington's next ambassador to Australia and will be posted to South Korea instead.

Charge d'Affaires Jim Caruso, who is acting U.S. ambassador, said while the White House had yet to officially announce the change of plans, "We need Adm. Harris there."

"We haven't heard anything officially from the White House yet, probably because they're going through some diplomatic protocol, but where he's going, let's assume it's going to be the Republic of Korea," Caruso told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Harris was needed in Seoul because President Donald Trump would soon be meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, Caruso said.

"What we need when those talks begin between Trump and Kim in a few weeks is an ambassador on the ground and not just an ambassador — someone who's ready to go, who knows the issues, who knows the military, is trusted by Trump and really there's no one better than Adm. Harris," Caruso said in the Australian capital Canberra.

"The fact that we were going to send our best available person here, but now we have to send him because of the urgency of the situation in Korea (to Seoul) I hope reflects the fact that the United States and Australia have worked together to apply the pressure on (North) Korea that has brought us to this point," Caruso said.

"It's been a long, tough road. We need Adm. Harris there," Caruso added.

Former Australian ambassador to Washington, Kim Beazley, blamed the delay in appointing a new U.S. ambassador to Australia on Trump's vendetta against Republican officials who refused to back his presidency.

Beazley told Fairfax Media that there were many competent alternatives to Harris who could be appointed to Canberra, but most had been blacklisted as "Never Trumpers."

"That's the problem that the American administration has. They have a policy against appointing 'Never Trumpers,'" Beazley was quoted on Thursday as saying.

"Well, I think the time has come for forgiveness, fellas," Beazley added.

Beazley could not be immediately contacted for comment on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was informed Tuesday of the decision not to send Harris to Australia by Acting U.S. Secretary of State John Sullivan, who had made clear that the appointment of a new ambassador to Australia would be a priority for the next secretary of state.

South Korea has been without an American ambassador for more than one year.

In Seoul, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington have been cooperating to fill the post, but stopped short of confirming Harris' reported nomination.

The United States has not had an ambassador in Australia since John Berry, president of the American Australian Association, left the post in September 2016.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report