Trump visits DMZ in suit in first for any sitting U.S. president

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump wore a suit while visiting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) bisecting the two Koreas on Sunday, marking the first time a sitting U.S. leader has visited the heavily fortified area without wearing a jacket. Dressed in a navy suit with a red necktie, Trump looked at North Korea without binoculars at an observation post along the inter-Korean border, in an apparent reflection of ongoing efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump's visit to the observation post took place shortly before he held a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ. Trump arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a two-day trip. The DMZ, which is about 250 kilometers long and 4 km wide, is one of the world's most heavily fortified borders, with the rival Koreas technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Previous visits to the DMZ by U.S. leaders were focused on underscoring the robust alliance between South Korea and the U.S. against the North's military provocations. When then President Barack Obama visited the DMZ in 2012, he looked at the North through field glasses, dressed in a dark windbreaker jacket. Former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also wore jackets when they visited the DMZ in 1983, 1993 and 2002, respectively. scaaet@yna.co.kr (END)