
Robert R. King served as special envoy for North Korea human rights issues at the U.S. Department of State. He was nominated by President Barack Obama, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and served in that position from November 2009 to January 2017. Ambassador King led U.S. efforts to press North Korea for progress on its human rights, U.S. humanitarian work in North Korea, and the treatment of U.S. citizens being held in the North. He represented the United States in international organizations dealing with these issues. Earlier, Dr. King was staff director of the House Foreign Affairs Committee under Chairmen Tom Lantos and Howard Berman and prior to that was a senior professional staff member of the committee (1993–2009). He was concurrently chief of staff to Representative Tom Lantos (1983–2009). In the 1970s, as a White House fellow, he was a member of the National Security Council staff working with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski in the Jimmy Carter administration. He was also assistant director of research and senior analyst at Radio Free Europe in Munich Germany (1970–1977). Dr. King holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University. An adjunct professor, he has taught courses in international relations and U.S. foreign policy in a number of graduate and undergraduate programs. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross Order of Merit by the president of the Republic of Hungary.
Areas of Expertise
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North Korean Human Rights and International Cooperation: The Way Forward after the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI)+10
Event by John J. Hamre , Victor Cha , Jin Park , Shin-wha Lee , and Hyun-dong Cho , Robert R. King , Jung-Hoon Lee , Michael Kirby , Elizabeth Salmón , Robert Joseph , Jung H. Pak , Scott Snyder , Chaesung Chun , Sheena Chestnut Greitens , Ellen Kim — April 21, 2023
North Korean Human Rights at a New Juncture: COVID, Regional Players, and South Korea-U.S. Cooperation
Event by Victor Cha , Robert R. King , Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) , Frank Wolf , Amb. Shin-wha Lee , and Gi-Wook Shin — October 6, 2022
Stop Dawdling—Name a Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights
Commentary by Robert R. King — June 9, 2022
UN Special Rapporteur’s Final Message on North Korea Urges Respect for Human Rights and Calls for Humanitarian Aid
Commentary by Robert R. King — March 31, 2022
Update on North Korean Human Rights on the First Anniversary of the Biden Inauguration
Commentary by Robert R. King — January 13, 2022
Book Launch: The North Korean Conundrum
Event by Victor Cha , Robert R. King , Gi-Wook Shin , and Nat Kretchun — October 28, 2021
UN Health and Labor Organizations Rank North Korea Worst on Work-Related Disease and Injury
Commentary by Robert R. King — October 15, 2021
North Korean Human Rights and the Biden Administration
Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Robert R. King — September 14, 2021

When Will the United States Have a Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights?
Commentary by Robert R. King — September 10, 2021
Concern in Pyongyang over Protests in Havana?
Commentary by Robert R. King — August 3, 2021