State Department Nonproliferation Official Resigns

A senior Bush administration official has announced his resignation from the State Department’s top nonproliferation job, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 18, 2005).

Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, submitted his resignation letter yesterday, during a period of intense diplomatic activity involving the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises.  His resignation would take effect next month, according to Reuters.

Joseph has a reputation for opposing a negotiated deal with North Korea, Reuters reported, raising the possibility that he was leaving his job because the prospects for a North Korean agreement appear to be improving (see related GSN story, today).

“I don’t know,” one senior official said about that speculation.  “He just told me he just decided it’s time to go” (Carol Giacomo, Reuters/Washington Post, Jan. 24).

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