The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has announced the establishment of a permanent research program for issues between South Korea and the U.S.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the U.S. private think tank said that it appointed Georgetown University Professor Victor Cha to head the program.

The program will serve as an independent platform in Washington where major policy issues of common importance to the people of South Korea and the United States can be discussed.

A former director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council under the Bush administration, Cha also served as the deputy head of the U.S. delegation to the six-way nuclear talks.

The establishment of the program marks the first time that one of the some 200 private think tanks in the U.S. has set up a permanent research program on Korea.