UNITED States Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will visit Phnom Penh on

Jan 28 for two days.

Talbott's visit - the highest ranking US official to

have made the journey since the early 1970s - "will demonstrate (the United

States') continued strong commitment to Cambodia's fledgling democracy,

according to the US Information Service.

Talbott, in a busy 10-day trip,

will visit Tokyo, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Wellington and Camberra.

Talbott,

after graduating from Yale University, went on to become a Rhodes scholar where

he was a roomate of President Bill Clinton. He specialized in Soviet studies,

speaks fluent Russian and translated Khruschev's memoirs.

After

university, he joined Time magazine where he spent the bulk of his career before

joining the State Department. He has often been viewed as the heir apparent for

the Warren Christopher's position as Secretary of State