Ex-CIA Agent Nominated Envoy
President Reagan today nominated James Roderick Lilley, a former CIA agent and career diplomat, to be ambassador to South Korea. Lilley, 58, who was born in Tsingtao, China, would succeed Ambassador Richard Walker.
In an unaccustomed announcement, the White House provided details of Lilley’s service from 1951 to 1978 with the CIA in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Nigeria and Hong Kong. Since 1984, Lilley has been serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. He previously was director in Taiwan of the American Institute.
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