South Korea marks 63rd anniversary of Korean War

South Korea calls on North Korea to pursue the path of lasting peace and common prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula.

On June 25, South Korea marked the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War (1950-1953), which in theory continues to this day, as the two countries only signed an armistice agreement and not a peace treaty. This year's ceremony to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Korean War took place in the context of tensions on the Korean Peninsula having just cooled down after a series of positive signals from all sides.

About 5,000 veterans, citizens and government officials attended the ceremony in Seoul on June 25. Speaking at the ceremony, South Korean Prime Minister Jung Hong-won called on North Korea to join efforts to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula: "North Korea should end its path of isolation and decline. We urge North Korea to pursue the path of lasting peace and common prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula."

A day earlier, South Korean President Park Geun-hye also attended a memorial service for victims killed in the inter-Korean War.

The Korea Times website on June 25 quoted a researcher from Seoul National University (SNU), Mr. Chang Yong-seok, saying that after 63 years, both Koreas have wasted too much human and material resources in an arms race that has brought the peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war. Mr. Chang commented that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides is also increasingly fragile due to the continuous tension-causing actions that have occurred on the Korean peninsula over the past time.

According to Mr. Chang, the Korean peninsula will not be peaceful if the two countries do not replace the current ceasefire agreement with a peace treaty, but that is very unlikely when Pyongyang continues to pursue nuclear weapons.

In addition to the military confrontation, many social researchers in South Korea have expressed concern that the long division of the Korean Peninsula has widened the cultural gap between South Korea and North Korea, causing the two countries, which share a history and language, to now have differences even in their daily communication. Professor Jeon Young-sun of South Korea's Konkuk University expressed concern that if this trend continues, it will become increasingly difficult for South Koreans and North Koreans to find ways to communicate effectively and understand each other.

It can be seen that, 63 years after the outbreak of the Korean War, efforts to heal the two Koreas through a peace treaty are still only a slim chance. If that happens, it may take the people of North and South Korea many times longer to make the third, or even fourth, generations here find true economic and social unity on the Korean Peninsula./.

According to VOV - DT