US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as his presidential envoy for special missions that he said covers "some of the hottest spots" around the world, including North Korea.

Trump announced Grenell, one of his staunchest supporters, as the presidential envoy, saying that he will fight for "peace through strength" and push for his America First agenda.

"I am pleased to announce Richard Allen Grenell as our Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.

He added, "Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST."

During Trump's first term in office, Grenell served as the US ambassador to Germany, acting director of national intelligence and presidential envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations.

The announcement on Grenell came amid expectations that after taking office on Jan. 20, Trump could seek to revive his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to help address the recalcitrant regime's nuclear quandary.

Trump has also named Alex Wong, who was engaged in working-level nuclear talks with North Korea during his first term, as his principal deputy national security adviser.

His selection of Grenell and Wong bodes well for the resumption of the US' diplomacy toward Pyongyang, observers said, though skepticism lingers over whether Pyongyang would accede to any diplomatic feelers from Washington given its deepening partnership with Moscow.

In a recent interview with US magazine TIME, Trump boasted again that he gets along "very well" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while claiming that he is the "only one" that Kim has ever dealt with.

During his first term, Trump had three in-person meetings with the North Korean leader, including the first summit in Singapore in 2018. Since the no-deal summit in Hanoi in 2019, meaningful nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled.

Grenell earned his bachelor's degree in government and public administration from Evangel University in Missouri and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. (Yonhap)