Amb. Sung Kim was officially sworn in as new US ambassador to the Philippines on Wednesday, saying he is confident the close friendship and alliance between the US and its oldest ally in Asia will continue.

Kim took the oath of office before Secretary of State John Kerry in a ceremony attended by hundreds of diplomats, friends and well-wishers, including top department officials, such as Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken and Assistant Secretary Daniel Russel.

Kim was nominated for the job in May and won Senate confirmation in September. He previously served as US special envoy to the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, ambassador to South Korea and special representative for North Korea policy and deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan.

"I had the privilege of serving as the first Korean-American US ambassador to Korea. It was always deeply moving and meaningful to return to my country of birth and to one of our strongest allies," Kim said during the ceremony at the State Department's Benjamin Franklin Room.

"Now I am thrilled to have the honor of representing our country in the Philippines, our oldest ally in Asia and one of our most special friends anywhere. The US and the Philippines are, and will continue to be, close friends, partners and allies," he said.

Calling Kim "one of our finest diplomats," Kerry heaped praise on the new envoy.

"As our special envoy, he traveled to North Korea 12 times to reaffirm America's commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to show our willingness to try to explore every single avenue to achieve that. As ambassador to South Korea, he led in modernizing our alliance and reiterating our security pledges in the face of North Korea threats," Kerry said.

"There is no one better qualified than Sung Kim to represent the United States of America to be our ambassador to the Philippines," Kerry said. "Ambassador Kim, you will travel to Manila with full backing of the president of the United States, gratitude, affection and support of every member in the State Department."

Kim will take over at a time when questions have arisen over the future of relations between Washington and Manila as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has engaged in some combative and standoffish rhetoric against the US in recent months.

Kerry said that the US will "continue to recognize our ironclad commitment to sovereignty, independence and security of the Philippines and we will continue to cooperate in efforts to maintain peace and stability and to promote shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region."

Kerry said Kim built a reputation for "sound judgment, for hard work and great intelligence and deep humility."

"The humility part is particularly impressive, folks, given that he has also been called George Clooney of the Foreign Service," he said, referring to the actor to whom Kim bears a resemblance. (Yonhap)