Days after Kim Jong Un said the United States is North Korea’s “biggest enemy,” President-elect Joe Biden announced a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pick who experts say is likely to pursue back-channel talks with North Korea.

On Monday, Biden chose William Joseph Burns as director of the CIA. Burns is currently the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and has served 33 years in diplomatic services, most recently as deputy secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.