U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim says that Washington is seeking to appoint a special envoy on North Korean human rights after a five-year vacancy.

Attending the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul on Wednesday, Kim said the process of identifying the best candidate is well underway and hopes an announcement can be made soon, but it is hard to provide a timeframe due to a number of unrelated issues.

In response to the disappointment expressed by North Korean defector-turned-South Korean lawmaker Tae Yong-ho over the continuing vacancy under the Joe Biden administration, Kim said the U.S. maintains its grave concerns about the deterioration of human rights in the North.

The last special envoy for North Korean human rights at the U.S. State Department was Robert King, who served from 2009 to 2017. Civic groups have been demanding a new envoy be swiftly named.