The Obama administration's national security team will have a North Korean expert as its new director of Asian affairs.

Sources in Washington said Sydney Seiler, the Deputy Mission Manager for North Korea at the Office of the Director of National Intelligince, is taking the directorial position.

Seiler served with the National Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency until 2007 and then with the Director of National Intelligence. He's closely followed North Korean affairs for nearly 30 years.

Seiler has a master's degree in Korean Studies from Yonsei University in Seoul and also wrote a book on North Korean founder Kim Il-sung.