On November 23, 2024, in a report from Epoch Times, it was announced that President-elect Donald Trump (Donald Trump) of the United States appointed former State Department official Alex Wong as Deputy National Security Advisor and Presidential Assistant.
Alex Wong served as the Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Issues and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North Korea Issues during President Trump’s first term in office. In these roles, he was the second negotiator for the Trump administration in the denuclearization talks with North Korea, and led the development and implementation of U.S. foreign policy and cross-departmental technical policies.
In a statement, Trump said, “As the Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Issues, he (Alex Wong) helped me negotiate summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.”
Trump’s nominee for National Security Advisor, Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, welcomed Trump’s appointment on the social media platform X.
Waltz said, “I’m pleased to see Alex Wong join the National Security Council as Trump’s Chief Deputy National Security Advisor.” He praised Wong’s remarkable work during President Trump’s first term, stating, “He helped facilitate historic summit talks aimed at stabilizing relations between Trump and Kim Jong-un.”
Waltz emphasized that Wong will play a crucial role in ensuring America’s security.
Alex Wong is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, researching U.S. national security policy and foreign affairs, with a particular focus on U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific region and the future of the Korean Peninsula.
He chairs the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressional commission responsible for assessing the impact of trade and economic relations with China on national security.
With a law degree from Harvard University, Wong previously served as Foreign Policy Advisor and Chief Legal Counsel to Senator Tom Cotton, before his tenure at the State Department. He also served as Foreign and Legal Policy Director for the Republican nominee Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign, providing guidance on foreign, defense, intelligence, and law enforcement policy formulation.
In addition to Wong’s appointment, President Trump announced on Friday the appointment of Sebastian Gorka as White House Senior Director of Counterterrorism and Deputy Assistant to the President. Trump highlighted Gorka’s over thirty years of national security experience.
“Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the ‘America First’ agenda and the MAGA movement since 2015, previously serving as a strategist for President Trump in his first term,” Trump wrote in the statement.