THE two rival Koreas marked the armistice agreement anniversary with Pyongyang showcasing a grand military parade with top military leaders of China and Russia present.
The signing of the armistice halted the 3-year Korean War and was considered as the longest-negotiated armistice in history.
On July 27th, 1953, the military leaders of North Korea, China, and the U.N. Command led by the U.S. Met at Panmunjom for a ceasefire agreement.
The signing of the armistice ended hostilities, however, a peace deal has never been signed.
A military armistice commission was set up to negotiate and implement the agreement,
However, 70 years later in 1994, North Korea decided to withdraw from the military armistice commission- marking the breakdown in communications.
The only communication channel still open is a hotline located at Panmunjom.
At present, North Korea conducted a grand military parade to showcase its newest military drones and nuclear missiles in Pyongyang.
North Korea sees the armistice as a victory in what it calls the “grand fatherland liberation war”.
Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared the stage with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Li Hongzhong, the vice chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress, together with their delegation.
During the event, Kim Jong Un was seen shedding a tear while singing North Korea’s National Anthem.
North Korea has so far conducted five military parades since October 2020 parade at night.
Meanwhile, South Korea marked the armistice in a more somber mood, by holding a ceremony in the city of Busan led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The event was attended by 4,000 government officials, guests including guests and foreign and South Korean War Veterans, as well as their families and descendants.
The ceremony took place under the theme “Freedom by Dedication, Future by Alliance.”
Throughout the three-year war, about 1.95 million soldiers from 22 countries fought for South Korea under the U.N. Flag, while North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union.
Although it has been decades since the armistice was sealed. It’s important to keep in mind that the two Koreas are technically still at war as no peace deal was signed up to this day.
