Stephen Biegun
Deputy Secretary of State
Stephen Edward Biegun was born in March 1963. He earned a B.A. in Russian and political science from the University of Michigan.
He was the in-country director for the International Republican Institute in Moscow for two years. He is a member of the board of the U.S.-Russia Foundation, the Moscow School of Political Studies, the U.S.-Russia Business Council and a joint venture operation involving automobiles in Russia.
He has held a number of offices within the federal government, including executive secretary of the National Security Council, reporting to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice under President George W. Bush. For 14 years, he was an adviser to the members of both the House and Representatives and the Senate.
In August 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Biegun as the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea. In October 2019, Biegun was nominated to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. His nomination was confirmed by a 90-3 vote of the Senate, and he was sworn into office in December 2019.
In the News…
The United States stands ready to resume nuclear talks if North Korea is willing to make a deal, Stephen Biegun, the Deputy Secretary of State said. Pyongyang has signaled it is in no mood to come back to the negotiating table, however.
In his first visit to Seoul this year, Biegun reiterated Washington’s long-held goal in negotiations with Kim Jong Un’s regime: eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.
“Dialogue can lead to action but action is impossible without dialogue,” the deputy secretary said, speaking to reporters in Seoul after a meeting with South Korea’s nuclear envoy. Biegun also serves as the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea.
“The two countries haven’t sat down for formal negotiations since October, when North Korea abruptly cut off talks in Stockholm. Since then, Kim has all but closed the door to diplomacy and ordered his citizens to prepare for a protracted life under economic sanctions. Last month, North Korea’s foreign minister said relations with the United Statates had “shifted into despair.”
More recently, one of the regime’s most prominent interlocutors with Washington in a state-run media report said the North had no interest in talks with the U.S. before November’s presidential election. “The U.S. is mistaken if it thinks things like negotiations would still work on us,” he said.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Deputy Secretary Biegun today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Stephen Biegun
Deputy Secretary of State
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520
