A joint statement to be announced following Friday's summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden will likely contain verbiage expressing respect for the Panmunjeom Declaration reached at the 2018 inter-Korean summit. 

In a meeting with reporters in Washington on Thursday, a senior presidential official noted Seoul’s contribution to the Biden government’s review of U.S. policy on North Korea. 

The official then said a phrase concerning the Panmunjeom Declaration could be included in the joint statement in a show of the U.S.’ respect not only for the agreements reached during the 2018 U.S.-North summit but also for the inter-Korean agreements.  

Diplomatic observers view such an expression, if included in the joint statement, as a possible boost for Seoul’s bid to improve its relations with Pyongyang as it seeks the realization of denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula. 

Issued at the end of the first summit between President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April of 2018, the Panmunjeom Declaration expresses mutual will to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, declare an end to the Korean War and stop hostile acts against one another.