Korean War old foes together in Pyongyang to remember conflict
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
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TWO decorated US war veterans who survived one of the worst battles of the Korean War found themselves among former foes at a memorial ceremony yesterday as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un launched the country's commemoration of the war's end 60 years ago.
It's unusual for US veterans to attend official events surrounding the July 27 war anniversary in North Korea, called "Victory Day" in Pyongyang. The veterans are in North Korea on a mission to find the remains of a fellow aviator.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a new cemetery for the war dead was brief and solemn, with no speeches. Soldiers stood guard as a military band played the national anthem. Kim saluted and left a basket of flowers bearing a banner with his name before the memorial.
The Korean War, which pitted North Korean and Chinese troops against United Nations forces - predominantly Americans - and South Korean troops, ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953. A peace treaty was never signed, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war and divided at the 38th parallel.
And in a reminder of the tensions on the peninsula, Pyongyang yesterday threatened to reposition troops at a stalled inter-Korean factory park at a North Korean border town. The warning came after failed talks to reopen the factory park that was a rare symbol of cooperation before it closed in April amid tension.
Scores of foreign visitors have arrived in Pyongyang this week. China's Vice President Li Yuanchao arrived yesterday.
The two Americans, retired US Navy Captain Thomas Hudner and Dick Bonelli, a former US Marine, are in North Korea to revisit Jangjin County, better known to Americans as the Chosin Reservoir - site of one of the deadliest battles of the war.
"It's a very emotional occasion to be here with so many veterans - not only the veterans but also the people of the nation who turned out to show their support to all veterans," said Hudner, who received the Medal of Honor for trying to save his downed wingman, Ensign Jesse Brown, at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
"I am delighted to see that our former foe and we share some of the same feelings about this," added Hudner.
The monument to veterans is the centerpiece of a sprawling national military cemetery in Pyongyang's outskirts.
One North Korean, Pak Chun Son, sobbed as she paid her respects at the gravestone of her father Pak Hyon Jong, who died in the war when she was five.
"My father will be honored on this hill forever," said her brother Pak Yun Yong, who was eight when his father died.
Commemorations also are taking place in South Korea and the US.
It's unusual for US veterans to attend official events surrounding the July 27 war anniversary in North Korea, called "Victory Day" in Pyongyang. The veterans are in North Korea on a mission to find the remains of a fellow aviator.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a new cemetery for the war dead was brief and solemn, with no speeches. Soldiers stood guard as a military band played the national anthem. Kim saluted and left a basket of flowers bearing a banner with his name before the memorial.
The Korean War, which pitted North Korean and Chinese troops against United Nations forces - predominantly Americans - and South Korean troops, ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953. A peace treaty was never signed, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war and divided at the 38th parallel.
And in a reminder of the tensions on the peninsula, Pyongyang yesterday threatened to reposition troops at a stalled inter-Korean factory park at a North Korean border town. The warning came after failed talks to reopen the factory park that was a rare symbol of cooperation before it closed in April amid tension.
Scores of foreign visitors have arrived in Pyongyang this week. China's Vice President Li Yuanchao arrived yesterday.
The two Americans, retired US Navy Captain Thomas Hudner and Dick Bonelli, a former US Marine, are in North Korea to revisit Jangjin County, better known to Americans as the Chosin Reservoir - site of one of the deadliest battles of the war.
"It's a very emotional occasion to be here with so many veterans - not only the veterans but also the people of the nation who turned out to show their support to all veterans," said Hudner, who received the Medal of Honor for trying to save his downed wingman, Ensign Jesse Brown, at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
"I am delighted to see that our former foe and we share some of the same feelings about this," added Hudner.
The monument to veterans is the centerpiece of a sprawling national military cemetery in Pyongyang's outskirts.
One North Korean, Pak Chun Son, sobbed as she paid her respects at the gravestone of her father Pak Hyon Jong, who died in the war when she was five.
"My father will be honored on this hill forever," said her brother Pak Yun Yong, who was eight when his father died.
Commemorations also are taking place in South Korea and the US.
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