Hundreds of veterans from South Korea, the U.S. and France will mark this week one of the most pivotal battles during the Korean War and mourn their comrades who fell in the battle, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
The battle at Jipyeong-ri, about 64 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in 1951, is considered one of the turning points in the 1950-53 war as it marked the first time the allied forces succeeded in turning back the advance of the Chinese military.
About 340 American, French and South Korean veterans of the battle will attend the ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the battle set for Friday, the ministry said in a statement.
Following the ceremony, the French embassy in Seoul plans to award the French Legion of Honor Chevalier, the highest state medal, to retired South Korean Lt. Gen. Oh Jang-seok. Oh was the commander of the South's 20th Army division during the battle.
A group of 105 veterans and their family members from the U.S. and France arrived in South Korea on Tuesday on a trip hosted by Seoul that included the ceremony, and tours to war memorials and a national cemetery, ministry officials said.
The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950 when tank-led troops from North Korea made a pre-dawn invasion into the South. Sixteen countries dispatched troops, and five others sent medical units under the U.N. flag to help South Korea repel the communist North backed by Chinese troops.
The war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula still technically at war.