U.S. President Barack Obama has appointed a former staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee as a special envoy for North Korean human rights.

The White House announced Friday that Obama picked Robert King for the post that had been left vacant since the launch of his administration.

King was the chief of staff to Congressman Tom Lantos, who was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and founder of the congressional Human Rights Caucus. King was involved in proposing the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004.

Observers say Obama’s appointing of King is a way to send a message to U.S. hard-liners on North Korea that Washington will not overlook Pyongyang’s human rights issues.