PHOTOS Moon meets Bush

President Moon Jae-in, left, and former U.S. President George W. Bush at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Thursday. Bush visited South Korea to attend the memorial service for former President Roh Moo-hyun. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in expressed appreciation for former U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to South Korea Thursday to attend an official ceremony to commemorate late President Roh Moo-hyun, saying it reflects the strong alliance between the two nations.

Bush is scheduled to participate in the memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of Roh's death, which will be held at Bongha Village in Gimhae, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, later in the day.

Moon, who was a longtime friend and colleague of Roh, is not attending the ceremony. He instead met Bush at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.

Moon told Bush that his plan to visit the village for the event is a "symbolic thing" that demonstrates the firmness of the alliance.

Moon also said Roh "meant a lot" to the alliance, while his translator used the words "great symbol" for Roh, who served as South Korea president from 2003 to 2008. He was Bush's counterpart throughout the tenure and the two had summit talks.

Moon's remarks marked his first public message on the anniversary.

Moon and Bush talk at Sang Chun Jae, a wooden pavilion hosting VIP guests at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap

The meeting was also attended by Ryu Jin,?left, chairman?of Poongsan Group, and Chung Eui-yong, right, head of the presidential National Security Office. Yonhap

Moon and Bush shake hands in front of Sang Chun Jae after their meeting on Thursday. Yonhap

In the meeting, Moon took note of Bush's plan to give a portrait of Roh that he painted to the bereaved family.

Moon also said that Roh and Bush made some important decisions on the Seoul-Washington alliance, including a bilateral free trade agreement and six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

Moon said he and President Donald Trump are also closely coordinating for the development of the alliance.

On May 23, 2009, Roh jumped to his death off a cliff behind his rural retirement home in Gimhae amid a widening probe by the prosecution into allegations that members of his family took illicit funds.

Roh is an icon of South Korea's contemporary liberalism. (Yonhap)