Early career

Before joining the State Department as a William C. Foster Fellow in 2003, Kang was a tenured professor of political science. He taught international security at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois University and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution. He has published extensively; his writings have appeared in such publications as International Organization, World Affairs, and Comparative Strategy.^[8]

During the late 1980s, Kang worked on Wall Street as an investment banker. He specialized in corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions for Dillon, Read & Co., Inc.^[8] Kang is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He became a Term Member in 1997 and was elected a Life Member in 2002.^[9]

Diplomatic career

Bush administration

During the administration of President George W. Bush, Kang held various senior positions in the State Department, including in the Bureau of Arms Control and Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.^[10] In the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Threat Reduction, Export Controls, and Negotiations.^[11] He led U.S. efforts to tighten export controls against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles.^[12] Kang also served as the senior nonproliferation policy adviser on the U.S. delegations to the Six-Party Talks under the leadership of Christopher R. Hill.^[13] He participated in the sixth round of the Six-Party Talks that produced the 13 February 2007 Joint Statement, resulting in the closure Yongbyon nuclear facility and the invitation of IAEA inspectors to conduct monitoring and verification measures.^[14] In October 2008, he accompanied Christopher R. Hill on his last visit to North Korea^[15] He attempted to work out with the North Koreans a verification protocol for denuclearization as Hill tried to shore up the flagging momentum in the Six-Party Talks process.^[16]

Obama Administration

During the Presidential transition between George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Kang served for six months as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation.^[17] Afterwards, he continued to focus on nuclear issues, leading U.S. diplomatic efforts in various international nuclear fora and multinational negotiations. In 2009, as President Obama launched his Nuclear Security Summit process, Kang co-chaired the 2009 Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) in the Hague.^[18] He delivered a personal message from the President committing his full support for the Initiative and welcoming 75 nations that joined it.^[19] While serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Affairs (2011–2016), Kang was accorded by President Obama the personal rank of ambassador in preparation for the February 2015 Diplomatic Conference for the Convention on Nuclear Safety.^[20] The international community, divided on the future of nuclear energy, was slow to respond to acute nuclear safety concerns that arose following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.^[21] The leading international forum addressing nuclear safety, Convention on Nuclear Safety, was mired in diplomatic deadlock, as anti-nuclear energy political pressure began to build, especially in Europe.^[22] Leading the U.S. delegation to the Diplomatic Conference, Kang secured the swift adoption of a consensus approach to resolving the deadlock.^[23] The compromise made possible the adoption of the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety,^[24] a milestone in the ongoing international efforts to improve nuclear safety as nuclear energy remains viable but continues to be controversial.^[25][26]

Trump administration

On January 22, 2017, Kang was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN). Throughout 2017, he acted as ISN's Assistant Secretary and exercised the authorities of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. In 2020, he once again acted as ISN's Assistant Secretary.

Biden administration

As ISN's acting Assistant Secretary in the first six months of the Biden Administration, for the second time, Kang exercised the authorities of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Kang to be the Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation.^[3] A hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 15, 2021.^[27] On October 19, 2021, his nomination was reported favorably out of committee.^[28] Kang's nomination expired at the end of the year, and was returned to President Biden on January 3, 2022.^[29] However, Kang's nomination was resent the following day. On March 8, 2022, his nomination was again reported favorably out of committee. Kang was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 29, 2022, via a floor vote of 52–46.^[30]