'Donghyuk Jang on U.S. Visit' Releases Additional Details of Meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State

Schedule Extended After State Department Contact at U.S. Airport
Bae Hyunjin: "Hope Jang Seriously Considers His Position Upon Return"

Donghyuk Jang, the leader of the People Power Party, has released details of meetings held with officials from the U.S. State Department during his 10-day, 8-night trip to the United States.

On the 16th (local time), after Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, extended his stay in the United States by three days, photos related to his schedule were distributed to the press corps. The photos, with filenames indicating the 16th, show a meeting with the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. Photo by Yonhap News.

On April 19, Jang shared with reporters photos of three schedules conducted on the 16th (local time): a meeting with the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, an interview with the U.S. foreign media outlet NK News (a North Korea-focused publication), and a meeting with Randy Fine, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Florida. The photos related to these events were distributed to the press.

Among these, only the back of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State is shown in the photo from the meeting. A key official from the party leadership told Yonhap News Agency, "We were not informed of the additional schedule," adding, "It appears that only the back view was intentionally released for security reasons." Speculation has arisen that the deputy secretary Jang met could be Michael DeSombre, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, or Dylan Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Cooperation.

Previously, on April 11, Jang departed for Washington, D.C., with Supreme Council Member Kim Minsu for a planned 7-day, 5-night trip. Jang, along with his delegation, was originally scheduled to return to Korea on the morning of the 17th and had already begun the departure process at a U.S. airport when he was contacted by the U.S. State Department. As a result, he abruptly extended his stay, ultimately spending 10 days and 8 nights in the United States.

Park Joon-tae, chief secretary to the party leader, notified reporters on the 17th about the extension of Jang's stay, explaining, "Due to special circumstances, the schedule needed to be extended again." Jang and Supreme Council Member Kim Minsu are scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport in the early morning of the 20th and attend the Supreme Council meeting at 9 a.m. the same day. Later in the morning, they plan to hold a press briefing at the National Assembly to explain the outcomes of their U.S. visit. Jang is expected to elaborate on the reasons behind the schedule extension at that time.

Screenshot from Facebook of Kim Jonghyuk, former Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party

At that time, Park stated, "There has been much media speculation about meetings with U.S. Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but as far as we know, those meetings did not take place."

Within the party, some members have voiced public criticism regarding Jang's 10-day, 8-night trip to the United States. On the previous day, following the selection of Oh Sehoon as the final candidate in the Seoul mayoral primary, Assemblywoman Bae Hyunjin posted on Facebook, "If the Supreme Council had first completed the task of finalizing nominations for regional candidates last week, then this weekend the mayoral, local government, and metropolitan and basic council candidates could have joined hands and started their campaigns together. It's disappointing and frustrating," directly referencing Jang's trip.

She went on to recall a photo of Jang and Supreme Council Member Kim smiling brightly in front of the U.S. Capitol, saying, "I just keep seeing this photo of a father who left home for ten days, and I can't help but laugh. I wonder whether it's innocence or a lack of awareness. When they return, I hope Jang seriously considers his position for the sake of the candidates."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Jang plans to resume on-site campaign visits for the upcoming June 3 local elections, starting with a trip to Gangwon Province on the 22nd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.