SEOUL — The 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War was commemorated on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday, but the deep divisions on the peninsula were evident in the very different ways North and South Korea marked the milestone.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose grandfather Kim Il-Sung initiated the epic Cold War conflict in 1950, met Thursday with visiting Chinese officials and with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as the regime staged another of its signature military parades through the center of Pyongyang.
Mr. Kim and Mr. Shoigu visited an arms expo where North Korean weaponry, including intercontinental ballistic missiles on launchers and predator drones, were displayed. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Mr. Shoigu had met earlier with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-Nam for talks aimed at “strengthening cooperation between our defense departments.”
Meanwhile, in the southern port city of Busan, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol led a somber commemoration ceremony that included elderly South Korean and foreign veterans who fought in the war. Busan, one of only two major South Korean cities that did not fall to North Korea in the war’s initial stage, hosts a memorial cemetery where many of those who fought for the United Nations Command are buried.
Mr. Shoigu’s visit, the first by a Russian defense minister to Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War, comes as the Kim regime has emerged as a possible arms supplier as the Kremlin’s munitions arsenal is being drained by the war in Ukraine. Russia’s tactical artillery, formerly far outstripping that of Ukraine, is now reportedly only at near parity with Kyiv.
Another reason for Mr. Shoigu’s trip to North Korea could be a response to Mr. Yoon’s surprise visit to Kyiv earlier this month, where he pledged more non-lethal military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. “Russia likes to mirror,” a Russian colleague told The Washington Times.
SEE ALSO: Seventy years on, North Korea tells its own story of a war and its aftermath
White House national security spokesman John Kirby did not directly respond to reporters’ questions on possible Russian-North Korean arms deals, but said the visit was just another indication of the problems Russia’s military is facing.
“Mr. Putin knows he’s having his own defense procurement problems, his own inventory problems, that his military remains on the back foot, and he’s trying to shore that up,” Mr. Kirby said, according to the Associated Press.
China’s relatively low-level delegation was headed by Li Hongzhong, a member of China’s ruling Communist Party politburo. Mr. Li, who came bearing a letter from President Xi Jinping, said in an address to North Korean officials that Beijing sought to promote the “sound and stable” development of relations with Pyongyang.
In Busan, Mr. Yoon said in an address that South Korea’s foundation rested on “the blood-stained military uniforms” of the troops who fought in the U.S.-led U.N. Command. He promised to never forget the sacrifices of those 1.95 million servicemen who served.
Sixteen nations joined the UNC, ranging from traditional allies such as Australia, Canada and the UK and regional states the Philippines and Thailand to distant nations including Colombia, Ethiopia and Turkey.
Though U.S. GIs bore the brunt of the fighting — over 36,000 dead — relatively few are buried in Busan as most were repatriated.
SEE ALSO: History As It Happens: Korea’s forever war
A day earlier, Mr. Yoon received, in the presence of U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. John Aquilano, the remains of seven South Korean soldiers killed in action. They had been identified, via DNA, in U.S. labs in Hawaii.
“There are some salutary lessons that the world needs to learn about Korea,” British General Andrew Harrison, deputy commander of the current U.N. Command, told reporters. “The commemorations are the perfect opportunity to remind people how constantly close we are to war.”
The July 27, 1953 armistice is imperfect — it was never replaced by a permanent peace agreement — but has held for seven decades. A new war between North and South Korea is, as one foreign general described it Thursday, is “low probability, high impact.”
Since the 1953 armistice that cemented the division on the peninsula, the two Koreas have taken radically different paths. South Korea, a top 10 global economy, has achieved prosperity and evolved into democratic rule. An industrial powerhouse, it is home to major global brands and is a benchmark for high-technology usage, infrastructure efficiency and pop-culture exports.
“I would never dare to put words in the mouths of vets, but everyone who I have spoken to is staggered by the progress [South Korea] has made in 70 years,” Gen. Harrison said.
North Korea, by contrast, is a de facto, third-generation monarchy run by the family that unleashed the war. Arguably the world’s most self-isolated nation, it is plagued by poverty and malnutrition, and is notorious for its lack of basic human rights and freedoms. Its most significant post-war national achievement has been the creation of a nuclear arms program that has made it a disruptive force in the region and the world.
Hear Andrew Salmon and Guy Taylor on the marking of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice:
• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.
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