Int'l Memorial Day for U.N. Korean War veterans to be held in Busan

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- An annual international commemoration will take place in the South Korean city of Busan later this week to remember U.N. veterans fallen during the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans ministry said Tuesday.

The International Memorial Day for U.N. Korean War Veterans is scheduled to be held at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Korea in the port city, some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday, the ministry said in a release.

Seoul hosts the event Nov. 11 every year to honor the veterans who fought alongside South Korean forces under the U.N. flag against the Soviet-backed North Korea during the three-year conflict. The war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Under the theme "A Moment to Be One, Turn Toward Busan," the ceremony will bring together around 1,000 attendees, including Korean War veterans and their families from six participating nations, foreign diplomats based in Seoul, U.N. Command service members and members of the general public.

At exactly 11 a.m., a memorial siren will echo throughout Busan for a one-minute silence to honor the fallen soldiers. A 21-gun salute will be rendered concurrently in the highest tribute, with the laying of wreaths by key attendees to follow, the ministry said.

The commemoration began in 2007 with the proposal by Canadian veteran Vincent Courtenay for a one-minute silence toward the Busan memorial cemetery across all U.N. allied nations.

Nov. 11 was officially designated the International Memorial Day for U.N. Korean War veterans following the passage of a South Korean law on honoring them in March 2020.