Korean War veterans visit the War Memorial of Korea on Jun. 23, 2017. (image: Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs)
SEOUL, Jun. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of U.S. soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War and their families will visit South Korea next week as part of a program expressing gratitude for their service, Seoul’s veterans ministry said Friday.
Sixty-two U.S. war veterans and their families, along with 20 Korean veterans and their families residing overseas, are scheduled to make a six-day trip to South Korea starting Sunday, according to the Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs.
During the visit, they plan to look around major security sites near the inter-Korean border, including the truce village of Panmunjom and the Imjingak Pavilion, and attend related ceremonies, the ministry added.
“The trip, which is to mark the 69th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, is to express our gratitude for their commitment and sacrifice,” the ministry said in a release. The three-year war started June 25, 1950.
During the war, the United States sent 1.79 million soldiers to the peninsula to fight invading North Korean and Chinese soldiers, according to South Korean government data.
Of them, 33,686 service persons were killed, 92,134 others wounded, and 3,737 still missing.
(Yonhap)
