A U.S. journalist says Washington responded in an exaggerated manner when it indicted Stephen Jin-woo Kim, an analyst at the State Department, for leaking classified information about North Korea’s nuclear intentions to a correspondent at FOX News.

NBC’s Michael Isikoff said Monday in an article titled, "'Double standard' in White House leak inquiries?” that the Obama administration is cracking down on mid-level leakers, despite high-level officials dishing far more sensitive secrets to Bob Woodward.

Woodward is the famed journalist who wrote “Obama’s Wars,” which reveals a wealth of eye-popping details from a highly classified briefing that Mike McConnell, then-director of National Intelligence, gave to President-elect Barack Obama just two days after the November 2008 elections.

The report said that revelations sprinkled throughout the book have presented an awkward dilemma for Obama administration officials as they pursue an increasingly aggressive --- and, arguably, unprecedented --- crackdown on national security leaks.

The report said the main issue is how administration officials can credibly prosecute mid-level bureaucrats and junior military officers for leaking classified information to the press when so many high-level officials have dished far more sensitive secrets to Woodward.