Ex-President Moon visits JSA on anniversary of 2018 inter-Korean summit
Former President Moon Jae-in, left, former first lady Kim Jung-sook, center, and Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea visit the Joint Security Area in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap
Former President Moon Jae-in visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) on Friday on the seventh anniversary of a joint declaration issued after an inter-Korean summit in 2018, the U.N. Command (UNC) said.
Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018. The North agreed to take additional steps for denuclearization, depending on the United States' corresponding measures.
Moon's Friday visit came after he attended a ceremony marking the anniversary of the so-called Pyongyang Joint Declaration and a military tension reduction agreement, at Camp Greaves, a former U.S. military camp near the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.
It marked the first visit to the JSA by a former South Korean president.
"The UNC welcomed former President Moon Jae-in back to the Joint Security Area today. The delegation learned about UNC's sustained peacebuilding efforts since his 2019 visit and UNC's enduring commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula," the U.S.-led multinational command said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson, who also serves as the commander of the UNC, accompanied Moon on the visit.
"Honored to host former President Moon Jae-in at the JSA, a site that reflects both the legacy of the Armistice and UNC's ongoing role in supporting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Brunson wrote on his X account.
Moon reportedly visited places of personal significance within the JSA, such as the Peace House and the Blue Bridge, a pedestrian bridge where he took a stroll with the North Korean leader.