ID :
72443
Mon, 07/27/2009 - 20:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/72443
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S. Korea, U.S. commemorate cease-fire of Korean War
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- Representatives of countries that fought together in
the Korean War gathered Monday at a building straddling the border with North
Korea, commemorating the day when an armistice was signed to end the three-year
conflict, officials said.
About 60 officials, including U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, South Korean Maj. Gen. Jang
Yong-gu and representatives from 14 nations that sent combat troops under the
U.N. banner, were present at the village of Panmunjom, about an hour's drive from
Seoul, they said.
Speaking to the participants that included U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
Kathleen Stephens, Sharp called on North Korea to abide by the truce that he
considered key to stability on the peninsula, said the South Korean and U.S.
officials who attended the ceremony.
Sharp, who commands 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea, also offered a toast to the 1953 armistice, signed between the U.S., North
Korea and China, they said.
The ceremony -- the 56th since the war ended, leaving millions of casualties on
both sides of the conflict -- came amid high tension sparked by the May 25
nuclear test by North Korea.
The communist state has since been slapped with tougher U.N. sanctions, while
defying U.N. resolutions by test-firing ballistic missiles off its east coast.
In statements earlier Monday, North Korea blasted the U.S., raising allegations
through its official media that its American rival used chemical weapons against
its people thousands of times during the Korean War.
The U.S. denies the claims.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on North Korea Sunday to return to
six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions, while North Korea said a day
later that it was willing to join a new form of dialogue. Pyongyang did not
specify what that form would be.
Sixteen nations, including Britain, Ethiopia, Greece and France, sent combat
forces to join the South Korean side while five nations, including Denmark and
India, sent support troops during the war.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- Representatives of countries that fought together in
the Korean War gathered Monday at a building straddling the border with North
Korea, commemorating the day when an armistice was signed to end the three-year
conflict, officials said.
About 60 officials, including U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, South Korean Maj. Gen. Jang
Yong-gu and representatives from 14 nations that sent combat troops under the
U.N. banner, were present at the village of Panmunjom, about an hour's drive from
Seoul, they said.
Speaking to the participants that included U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
Kathleen Stephens, Sharp called on North Korea to abide by the truce that he
considered key to stability on the peninsula, said the South Korean and U.S.
officials who attended the ceremony.
Sharp, who commands 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea, also offered a toast to the 1953 armistice, signed between the U.S., North
Korea and China, they said.
The ceremony -- the 56th since the war ended, leaving millions of casualties on
both sides of the conflict -- came amid high tension sparked by the May 25
nuclear test by North Korea.
The communist state has since been slapped with tougher U.N. sanctions, while
defying U.N. resolutions by test-firing ballistic missiles off its east coast.
In statements earlier Monday, North Korea blasted the U.S., raising allegations
through its official media that its American rival used chemical weapons against
its people thousands of times during the Korean War.
The U.S. denies the claims.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on North Korea Sunday to return to
six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions, while North Korea said a day
later that it was willing to join a new form of dialogue. Pyongyang did not
specify what that form would be.
Sixteen nations, including Britain, Ethiopia, Greece and France, sent combat
forces to join the South Korean side while five nations, including Denmark and
India, sent support troops during the war.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
