| U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, poses with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo before their meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, in this pool photo. AP-Yonhap |
Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, highlighted the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance on Thursday, wrapping her two-day visit to Seoul.
She said the visit by her and other members of U.S. Congress reaffirmed the "strong bond" between Seoul and Washington.
"The United States and South Korea share a strong bond formed for security and forged by decades of warm friendship," Pelosi said in a released statement.
"Our Congressional delegation traveled to Seoul to reaffirm our treasured ties and our shared commitment to advancing security and stability, economic growth and democratic governance," she added.
The speaker also posted several photos of her visit to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on her official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
"It was a special honor to engage with General LaCamera and other @USForcesKorea servicemembers on the ground at the DMZ/JSA and Osan Air Base," she tweeted, mentioning the top commander of the American forces in Korea and the air base, located south of Seoul, which she used for the two-day trip. JSA is the acronym for Joint Security Area, another name for Panmunjom.
Pelosi is the first U.S. House speaker to visit Seoul since 2002.
She is currently leading a six-member delegation on an Asia trip that earlier took them to Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Pelosi said she was pleased to hold a phone meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during her stay in Seoul.
"On the call, we thanked the President for Korea's hospitality of 28,000 U.S. service members and their families," she said.
While mentioning her visit to the Demilitarized Zone that sits along the inter-Korean border, the U.S. House speaker also praised U.S. and South Korean troops.
"We conveyed the gratitude of the Congress and the country for the patriotic service of our service members, who stand as sentinels of democracy on the Korean Peninsula," she said.
"Our members also greeted members of the Korean Honor Guard, whose devoted service is crucial to defending the Korean people," she added.
Pelosi and other members of the delegation arrived in Japan on Thursday (Seoul time), the final leg of their trip. (Yonhap)