Mr. Kim Won-soo assumed his position as Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs on 1 June 2015.

Prior to taking on this post, Mr. Kim served as Assistant-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General since January 2007. In that capacity, he worked as the Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the Secretary-General from 2007 to 2012, led the Change Implementation team from May 2012 to September 2013 and concurrently served as the Secretary of the Chief Executives Board for coordination, which is composed of the executive heads of the UN system including the Bretton Woods institutions, from September 2013 to May 2014.

Mr. Kim has also served as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea leading the Transition Team for the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations (October through December 2007). Mr. Kim brings more than three decades of diplomatic and policy experience, both bilateral and multilateral, beginning in 1978 when he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Before joining the United Nations, he worked in the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea, serving as Secretary for International Security Affairs from 2000 to 2002 and as Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2002 to 2003. He then served as Director-General for Policy Planning and Ambassador for Regional Security Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005, and in 2006 as Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister and Ambassador for UN issues. Mr. Kim also served as Alternative Representative and Coordinator of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations Security Council from 1996 to 1997 and as Political Counselor to the country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

His diplomatic career also included overseas postings at the Republic of Korea embassies in Washington D.C., USA and New Delhi, India as well as Headquarters positions such as Deputy Director of the North America Division, Chief of Human Resource Management and Director of the Treaties Division.

Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, and a Master of Arts degree from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced Studies at Johns Hopkins University, United States. In addition, he was a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University and did doctoral research in international law.