Seoul invites Thai descendants of Korean War veterans

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- A group of 40 people from Thailand will arrive here
this week on a program run by Seoul aimed at helping younger generations
understand the realities behind the Korean War, in which nearly 2 million
soldiers from 21 U.N. member nations fought, trip organizers said Monday.

The group, which consists of the descendants of Thailand's Korean War veterans,
will arrive here Tuesday for a five-day visit that will take them to the U.N.
Cemetery in Busan and various other relics of the 1950-53 war, including the
truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone that divides the two
Koreas, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
"The youth program was launched in 2006 as the number of Korean War veterans able
to make the trip is significantly dwindling every year due to old age and poor
health conditions," a ministry official said.
Over 100 descendants of Korean War veterans from three nations -- Ethiopia,
Thailand and Turkey -- have visited the country on the program, while over 26,000
Korean War veterans have come to South Korea on a revisit program also run by the
veterans affairs ministry.
Nearly 1,200 Thai soldiers fought in the Korean War as part of the United Nations
Command.