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![Michael DeSombre, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, third from left, and other officials pay tribute at a memorial honoring U.S. service members killed in Korea at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on March 13. [YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12611356.jpg?imageId=12611356&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae, right, poses with Michael DeSombre, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affaris, ahead of their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul on March 12. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12565112.jpg?imageId=12565112&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![Assistant Secretary of the United States for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre attends the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS), as part of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 27, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12558796.jpg?imageId=12558796&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press, Michael George DeSombre, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, attends a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Jan. 10. [AP/YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12613088.jpg?imageId=12613088&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![Michael DeSombre, newly appointed U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12429911.jpg?imageId=12429911&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![Michael DeSombre, a former U.S. ambassador to Thailand. [YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/11087458.jpg?imageId=11087458&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)
![The State Department in Washington [YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12256308.jpg?imageId=12256308&width=240&height=184&format=webp&format=jpg)