SOUTH KOREA: Military ceremony held to mark 60th anniversary of recapture of Seoul from North Korea

Record ID: 451552

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Military ceremony held to mark 60th anniversary of recapture of Seoul from North Korea
  • Date: 29th September 2010
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2010) (REUTERS) MILITARY OFFICERS SALUTING TO PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK VIEW OF CEREMONY IN KWANGHWAMOON IN SEOUL VARIOUS OF HOISTING NATIONAL FLAG VARIOUS OF AWARDING CEREMONY
  • Embargoed: 14th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: History,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVACRGOKEKIKPN2CEE2ZITAVSCCI
  • Story Text: South Korea held a military ceremony on Tuesday (September 28) to mark the 60th anniversary of the recapture of Seoul after the invasion from the North. This as North Korea's ailing leader gave his youngest son his first public title and named him a general.
    Thousands of South Korean military officers and civilians along with domestic and foreign war veterans from the 1950-53 Korean War gathered in Seoul to mark the anniversary.
    South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak spoke about the ship sinking incident in March.
    "North Korea's provocation the other day, which killed our 46 sailors, gave us a heart-breaking lesson. With the armistice between two Koreas for 60 years, there has been some laxity in the mind of our soldiers," said Lee at the ceremony.
    North and South Korea are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce without a peace treaty.
    Ties between the two Koreas had been sour since conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008 and ended aid to the North demanding an end to its nuclear ambition.
    Tensions spiked this year after the South, with the U.S.'s backing, accused the North of torpedoing one of its navy ships. Pyongyang denies the charge and threatened to retaliate by force if Seoul imposed sanctions.
    "Even if the Cold War era has gone, terrorism by proliferation of nuclear weapons and various kinds of new threats are threatening the world peace. No country in the world is free from this kind of threat, so the international security cooperation is more important than the past," Lee added.
    After the ceremony, hundreds of cadets of the South Korean Military Academy and domestic and foreign war veterans from the Korean War marched through the city of Seoul.
    South Korean jet fighters and helicopters also celebrated the anniversary over the city of Seoul.
    North Korea has made conciliatory gestures in recent weeks, engaging in dialogue with the South over flood aid and family reunions and also indicating it was willing to restart arms talks with regional powers aimed at swapping its nuclear arms project with economic aid.
    Seoul announced two weeks ago its first substantial aid package to its neighbour in more than two years after flooding there killed dozens, destroyed thousands of homes and devastated farmland.
    North Korea's state media reported earlier on Tuesday (September 28), that Kim Jong-il has named his youngest son as a military general, marking the first stage of a dynastic succession.
    It was the first time the son, Kim Jong-un, had been mentioned by name in the North's media.
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