ID :
19132
Fri, 09/12/2008 - 11:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/19132
The shortlink copeid
Seoul to mark foundation of military with massive parade
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's latest weapons systems, including the next generation K-2 tank and guided missiles, will be put on a rare public display next month during a street parade marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the armed forces, event organizers said Thursday.
The parade, involving some 2,500 armed service members and over 80 armored vehicles, missiles and other equipment, will be held Oct. 1, Armed Forces Day, according to a Defense Ministry task force organizing the anniversary events.
Seoul annually holds commemorative events to mark the military's foundation, but
this is the first time in five years a street parade will be held in the capital,
according to officials at the task force.
"When the military was founded 60 years ago, it began with no armored
vehicles, but now we have the military strength to fully back up the world's 12th
largest economy," said Army Maj. Gen. Kim Jin-hoon, head of the planning
task force.
The South Korean economy was ranked the world's 13th largest last year, down two
notches from a year before.
"The event will be a venue at which the military pledges before the nation
that it will work to become a future-oriented, advanced force," Kim told a
press briefing.
Also to be on display are the long-range, precision-guided SLAM-ER missile and
the country's indigenous ground-to-ground ballistic Hyun Moo missile, which has a
maximum flying range of 180 kilometers.
The parade will begin at the Samsung subway station and will end at the nearby
Yeoksam subway station, beginning at 4 p.m. and lasting about one hour, according
to officials.
Various other events, including music and dance performances, troop reviews and a
flyby of air force jets, will also be going on throughout the day at Jamsil
Olympic Stadium, the main venue of the commemoration ceremony.
Military parades were much more frequent and larger in size up until late 1980s
when Seoul and Pyongyang competed against each other in what seemed then to be a
never-ending arms buildup.
North Korea just celebrated the 60th anniversary of its foundation on Tuesday,
but its commemorative activities, which included a troop review and a parade,
only involved what officials here called "quasi-military personnel."
The two Koreas technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a
ceasefire, not a peace agreement.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's latest weapons systems, including the next generation K-2 tank and guided missiles, will be put on a rare public display next month during a street parade marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the armed forces, event organizers said Thursday.
The parade, involving some 2,500 armed service members and over 80 armored vehicles, missiles and other equipment, will be held Oct. 1, Armed Forces Day, according to a Defense Ministry task force organizing the anniversary events.
Seoul annually holds commemorative events to mark the military's foundation, but
this is the first time in five years a street parade will be held in the capital,
according to officials at the task force.
"When the military was founded 60 years ago, it began with no armored
vehicles, but now we have the military strength to fully back up the world's 12th
largest economy," said Army Maj. Gen. Kim Jin-hoon, head of the planning
task force.
The South Korean economy was ranked the world's 13th largest last year, down two
notches from a year before.
"The event will be a venue at which the military pledges before the nation
that it will work to become a future-oriented, advanced force," Kim told a
press briefing.
Also to be on display are the long-range, precision-guided SLAM-ER missile and
the country's indigenous ground-to-ground ballistic Hyun Moo missile, which has a
maximum flying range of 180 kilometers.
The parade will begin at the Samsung subway station and will end at the nearby
Yeoksam subway station, beginning at 4 p.m. and lasting about one hour, according
to officials.
Various other events, including music and dance performances, troop reviews and a
flyby of air force jets, will also be going on throughout the day at Jamsil
Olympic Stadium, the main venue of the commemoration ceremony.
Military parades were much more frequent and larger in size up until late 1980s
when Seoul and Pyongyang competed against each other in what seemed then to be a
never-ending arms buildup.
North Korea just celebrated the 60th anniversary of its foundation on Tuesday,
but its commemorative activities, which included a troop review and a parade,
only involved what officials here called "quasi-military personnel."
The two Koreas technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a
ceasefire, not a peace agreement.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
