President Moon Jae-in met with former U.S. President George W. Bush at Cheong Wa Dae for 45 minutes from 10:00 a.m. today. President Bush is visiting Korea to attend a memorial ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of former President Roh Moo-hyun.

Welcoming him to Korea, President Moon said that President Bush’s attendance in itself at the memorial service for the late President Roh – his counterpart over a decade ago in the ROK-U.S. alliance – patently demonstrates the alliance’s robustness. 

President Moon went on to say that decisions that the two former leaders made together, such as the KORUS FTA and Six-Party Talks, carried great significance in advancing the ROK-U.S. alliance into a more comprehensive one. “President Trump and I, too, will uphold that spirit and make our alliance greater still,” the President added. 

President Bush recounted times spent with President Roh. Noting that he had a lot of fond memories, one in particular that came to mind, he said, was a luncheon meeting only for them and their spouses. He added that they mainly talked about their families rather than work, which in part helped further deepen their friendship.  

President Moon replied that President Roh once noted that he felt comfortable during talks with President Bush thanks to the American president’s truly unassuming and candid character. 

In reply, President Bush said that most leaders were often unable to speak their minds frankly but President Roh used to get straight to the point, and consequently, they were able to converse with each other at ease. He spoke highly of the fact that such conversations played a significant role in building a good relationship between the two leaders.