Accessibility links

Breaking News
USA

Obama Honors Korean War Veterans on 60th Anniversary of Armistice


Obama Calls on Americans to Honor Korean War Vets
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:46 0:00

On the 60th anniversary of the armistice that halted the Korean War, the president pays visit to Washington's Korean War Veterans Memorial.

U.S. President Barack Obama says the Korean War was a victory for the United States and its allies that gave the people of South Korea a chance for a brighter future.

Obama spoke to a sea of Korean War veterans and their families Saturday in Washington at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. The ceremony honored the 60th anniversary of the Korean Armistice signing that ended fighting in 1953 and established a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

The president said some critics of the war have called the armistice a stalemate, but he disagreed.

"We can say with confidence that war was no tie. Korea was a victory. When 50 million South Koreans live in freedom, a vibrant democracy, one of the world's most dynamic economies — in stark contrast to the repression and poverty of the North — that is a victory and that is your legacy," said Obama.

The president praised American service men and women for "leaving behind everyone they loved to fight for a people they had never met." He said the war showed the world the United States will remain a force for peace, security and prosperity.

The president also laid a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

South Korea sent political and military leaders to Washington to honor Korean War veterans. Special envoy Kim Jung Hun thanked the veterans for giving their "blood, sweat and tears" so that his people could live in freedom.
  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG