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North and South Korea Remember the 70th Anniversary Of Devastating War

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – North and South Korea on Thursday recalled the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War that left millions of soldiers and civilians dead, injured or missing, and ravaged much of the Korean Peninsula.

During a ceremony, President Moon Jae-urged North Korea to “boldly embark on an endeavor to end the most sorrowful war in world history.” He said the two Koreas must achieve peace first before being able to see the path to reunification.

Autocratically-ruled North Korea marked the anniversary with visits to monuments to late soldiers. And with anti-U.S. rhetoric and newspaper editorials praising its fighting in “the Fatherland Liberation War.”

An institute run by the North’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement that “we will continue to build up our strength to overwhelm the persistent nuclear threats that the U.S. has launched at us.”

Back in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump commemorated the 70th anniversary of what was the first massive military conflict of the Cold War by laying a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Trump and the first lady stood for a moment of silence before laying their hands on the wreath. Then the president saluted, and the first lady placed her hand over her heart as a military band played “Taps.” The couple later greeted elderly Korean War veterans.

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces backed by China and the Soviet Union advanced into South Korea, which was supported by the U.S.

Besides at least hundreds of thousands of Korean fighters, more than 33,000 Americans died in the battle until the weapons fell silent in 1953, according to experts.

The conflict has technically never ended, as hostilities ceased with a truce but not a peace treaty. And the wounds of history have not healed.

At a ceremony held in Cheorwon county, an area on the border with North Korea that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the war, hundreds of veterans and family members arrived to remember the past. And honor those who died.

VETERANS RECALLING CONFLICT

The veterans, many using canes and walkers, gathered near a memorial for the brutal Battle of White Horse for songs, a flag presentation, and a dramatic re-enactment of a wartime scene.

A moving procession was held to lay wreaths and burn incense for the victims of the war. Then doves were released from a vantage point overlooking North Korea, less than two miles (3 kilometers) away.

Veteran Choi Han-wook, 90, told reporters that the war was an all-consuming struggle to survive. And to some extent it still is.

“The war is about life and death — only those two things,” he stressed, wearing military ribbons and a medal pinned to his suit.

“You don’t have thoughts about your family and hometown — all that is lost. It was a fierce battle. War shouldn’t happen, but if it does, you want to win.”