Korean War veterans from 16 nations to visit Seoul

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- A group of Korean War veterans from 16 nations will arrive here next week on a revisit program organized by a South Korean veterans' association and will be invited to Seoul's official event marking the anniversary of the foundation of the nation's armed forces, trip organizers said Wednesday.

The group consists of 30 veterans whose injuries in the war have left them with
physical disabilities, according to the Korea Disabled Veterans Organization.
"We are inviting to Korea those U.N. veterans who became disabled while fighting
for the freedom of our nation," the organization said in a press release.
This year's event is the second of its kind organized by the group, though
hundreds of those who served in the Korean War have visited the country on a
similar program run by the larger Korea Veterans Association.
Nearly 2 million troops from the 16 U.N.-allied nations fought in the war that
left millions of Koreans and foreign soldiers killed or injured. The U.N. nations
are the United States, Canada, Belgium, Columbia, Australia, Greece, the
Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey, Ethiopia, South Africa, Britain, New Zealand,
Luxembourg, France and the Philippines.
"We had earlier planned to invite only one veteran from each of the 16
participant countries, but decided not to place any limits because most of the
veterans are now in their 80s and we cannot promise another opportunity next
year," the organization said.
The visitors will join a street parade next Wednesday in a day-long festival to
commemorate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of South Korean armed forces.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)