Update at 18:00 EST: This article has been updated to include comments from experts.

The U.S. special representative for North Korea will face questioning from a panel of lawmakers on Wednesday at a confirmation hearing for the State Department’s number-two position — a key procedural step in what is widely seen as a promotion for the Trump Administration’s top envoy to Pyongyang — according to a notice posted on Monday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Senate hearing for Stephen Biegun, the special representative, is set to come nearly three weeks after President Donald Trump nominated himto become