Former Clinton administration deputy assistant secretary of defense Kurt Campbell is likely to assume the post of assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, currently held by Christopher Hill.

The Washington Post also said Friday that Jeffrey Bader, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, is expected to return to the White House as the National Security Council’s Director for Asian Affairs.

If Campbell and Bader do end up assuming such posts, the two will play leading roles in coordinating affairs concerning the Korean Peninsula and the entire Asian region.

Campbell, who currently mans the post of Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security, has continuously stressed that a complete nuclear verification is key to resolving North Korea’s nuclear issue.

Bader, meanwhile, has emphasized the normalization of U.S.-North Korea ties also must be linked to Pyongyang’s nuclear issue.