Hwang was closely guarded by security personnel from the U.S. State Department, while American and Japanese reporters jockeyed for position to cover his visit.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a regular briefing that Hwang’s visit was initiated by the Defense Forum Foundation, a non-governmental organization, and was a private visit.

When asked whether he thought Hwang’s visit would influence future six-way talks on the North's nuclear program, Boucher said he could not understand why and how Hwang's visit to the United States would affect the talks. He added that during his stay in Washington, Hwang would meet with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs James Kelly, Undersecretary of State John Bolton and arms control specialist Fred Feitz, as well as members of Congress.

The conservative daily paper the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that activists in the United States and South Korea are urging Hwang to announce the establishment of a refugee government during his visit. The paper also said that some supporters expect Hwang to become the new leader of North Korea if Kim Jong Il is deposed.

Professor Nam Jae-jung of the AEGIS Foundation, a human rights movement for North Koreans in the United States, stressed that Hwang is the perfect person to lead North Korea, since he knows which North Korean officials to remove and which to keep. Another former North Korean diplomat working in a defectors’ group in Seoul praised Hwang as the perfect leader, because of his numerous followers and disciples in North Korea’s elite class, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Japan’s Sankei Shinbun, however, reported that Hwang’s elder son was transferred to Pyongyang after breaking his leg while working at a quarry. Quoting a Korean source, the newspaper went on to say that the "accident" could have been meant as a threat to Hwang, using his son as a hostage. (Joo Yong-jung, midway@chosun.com ) and (Jung Kwon-hyun, khjung@chosun.com )