The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Sung Kim as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Kim, who was nominated for the top post in June, is expected to soon take up his new role in Seoul. He is the first Korean-born U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

The Senate’s confirmation of Kim had been delayed after Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, who supports hard-line North Korea policies, had blocked confirmation efforts in protest of the Obama administration’s policies on the communist state.