BANGKOK, 24 February 2014 – The speculation over the transfer of US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney to South Korea has been disregarded as false by the US Embassy.
In a phone interview, Spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok Walter Braunohler confirmed that Mrs Kenney would continue her duty as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.
The statement was issued in the wake of a rumor in the social media that the ambassador had been moved to the Republic of Korea. The rumor also cited Mr James Zumwalt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, as the incoming ambassador.
Mr Braunohler admitted that Mrs Kenney, who became Ambassador to Thailand in January 2011, had already reached the usual 3-year ambassadorial term. However, he said no candidates had been proposed by President Barack Obama to the Senate as her replacement.
In her Twitter comment regarding the rumor, Mrs Kenney said “Someone had a really good imagination.”
