Marking the eighth anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, former President Moon Jae-in urged North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to boldly sit down with President Donald Trump, who has shown a willingness to engage in dialogue.
Moon issued his remarks on the afternoon of the 27th ahead of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration eighth-anniversary ceremony, scheduled for 2 p.m. at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul. The event is hosted by the Council for Advancing Peace on the Korean Peninsula under Democratic Governments and the Ministry of Unification.
In his statement, Moon called on Chairman Kim Jong Un and warned that strengthening military forces and building higher walls of isolation will not guarantee genuine security.
He urged Kim to use improved inter-Korean relations as a bridge to U.S.–North Korea talks, as was done eight years ago, arguing that inter-Korean dialogue is the quickest and safest path out of the current deadlock.
Moon also appealed directly to President Trump, asking him to apply his trademark decisiveness and wisdom to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.
He acknowledged that establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula will be an especially difficult and arduous task, but said that if South and North overcome those challenges and, through their own efforts, build a model of coexistence and peace on the peninsula, it would become a major milestone in correcting and rebuilding a fractured world order.
Moon said the role of the Lee Jae-myung administration is clear: build firmly on the achievements of past governments and launch a renewed “relay of peace” that wisely transcends previous limitations.
He added that he earnestly hopes the stalled peace process will be restarted so the peninsula can become a place of sustainable coexistence and prosperity rather than a theater of confrontation.
Referring to recent developments in the Middle East, Moon warned that public concern has grown over the possibility that unwanted military clashes could erupt on the peninsula regardless of the public’s wishes. He stressed the need to demonstrate a firm resolve to never tolerate any form of war or armed conflict that runs counter to the will of the people.
Moon also called for a firm commitment to the principle of self-reliant defense, saying that South Korea must complete the defense capabilities necessary to take responsibility for its own security. In an international environment dominated by “my country first” policies, he warned, security that cannot be defended by one’s own means is like a house built on sand.
On the ongoing transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) between South Korea and the United States, Moon said the transfer is not a weakening of the alliance. A strong military that can take responsibility for itself, he argued, will make the ROK–U.S. alliance healthier and will offer significant strategic benefits to the United States as an ally.
Moon is scheduled to attend the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration eighth-anniversary event at the National Assembly that afternoon with his wife, Kim Jung-sook, under the theme “The Power of Peace We Uphold.” This will be his second visit to the Assembly since leaving office; he last attended the anniversary ceremony last year.
