Hopes for peace high as Koreas mark war anniversary

By Carol Clark
CNN Interactive

Both Koreas agreed to mark this year's June 25 anniversary of the war's outbreak without the usual military-oriented parades, which typically have resembled celebrations such as this one in 1998 for North Korea's 50th birthday

(CNN) -- As Koreans basked in the euphoria of a landmark summit that saw the leaders of the North and South shake hands for the first time, they also faced the 50th anniversary of the war that drove a wedge of hostility deep across the middle of the peninsula.

Both Koreas usually commemorate the Korean War anniversary with military parades, and even bigger extravaganzas were in the works for the half-century anniversary. In keeping with the new tone of reconciliation set by the summit, however, both sides agreed to scale back the June 25 occasion and mark the day North Korea attacked the South in 1950 with somber, low-key events.

"The mood of joy is widespread and high. Everybody wants peace and any military displays might interfere," said Moon Chung-in, an academic who was part of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's delegation to Pyongyang for the historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, June 13-15.

The 1950-53 fighting between the North, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and the South, backed by the United Nations, cost the lives of an estimated 1.3 million to 2.4 million Koreans. An estimated 900,000 Chinese were killed and wounded. Nearly 37,000 U.S. troops died and another 103,000 suffered wounds. Turkey, Britain, Canada, France, Australia, Greece and other U.N. countries lost between 2,000 and 3,000 troops.

The fighting ended in an armistice that left the two Koreas still technically at war, divided by a heavily mined and guarded demilitarized zone.

"The Korean War is a bitter chapter in the history of Korea, and both sides consider themselves victims of it," Moon said. "The anniversary is usually commemorated with a show of power to boost domestic morale in terms of national security."

The decision of the defense ministries in the North and South to cancel the military parades was "a very good sign," he said.

The Korean Veterans' Association in Seoul officially endorsed the South Korean Defense Ministry's decision to cancel the anniversary parade, including battle re-enactments, and replace them with photo exhibits and dinner parties for veterans.

But the feeling of conciliation was not unanimous. Some veterans were angry at what they saw as conceding too much to North Korea.

"It's as if the government were telling the people to forget the war without even getting an apology from North Korea for starting the war," 70-year-old Choi Chong-tae, leader of a group of decorated war veterans, told The Associated Press.

Such comments indicate the difficulties that probably lie ahead as the two Koreas try to keep alive the spirit of reconciliation kindled at the summit.

"The events of the war are clear: who started it, what happened and how ugly it was -- it was really brutal," said Leon Sigal, a Korea expert at the Social Science Research Council in New York. "A lot of people got killed. Lives were ruined and families were separated. Can they get over it? That's the issue. The summit was the beginning of that, the first step in the reconciliation of the two Koreas."

Known as a recluse, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il surprised the world when he greeted South Korean President Kim Dae-jung at the Pyongyang airport

Diplomatic triumph

The June 13-15 meeting was filled with emotional high points, starting with the sight of the reclusive Kim Jong Il greeting Kim Dae-jung warmly at the Pyongyang airport. More than 500,000 North Koreans lined the streets and waved pink paper flowers as the motorcade of the two leaders passed through Pyongyang.

The two Kims traded champagne toasts and friendly banter, but the party atmosphere was grounded by the realization that they were forging a fundamental moment in Korean history.

"From now, June must be recorded in history not as a month of tragedy but a month of hope for the future of our people," Kim Dae-jung said during a dinner at which he played host in Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Il, portrayed for years by the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency as a dangerous madman, also waved the olive branch during the summit, calling the event "a passageway beyond the Korean War," according to Moon.

"I think both leaders have a very, very strong conviction to liberate the entire Korean Peninsula from the fear of war."

'It is time to calm ourselves'

Besides Kim Jong Il's acceptance of a reciprocal visit to Seoul, the summit produced a wide-ranging pact. The leaders agreed to allow reunions of families separated by the war and pledged themselves to promote closer economic ties and to work toward eventual reunification.

Many Korea experts caution, however, that much more effort is needed before the two nations can replace the armistice signed in 1953 with an official peace declaration.

The Korean leaders agreed to allow reunions of families separated by the war and discussed eventual reunification of the two countries

"We shouldn't be too excited," said Moon, whose telephone interview with CNN from his office at Seoul's Yonsei University was interrupted by call after call from the flurry of activity following the Pyongyang meeting. "It is time to calm ourselves. In the wake of the summit, let us focus on implementing [the terms of the agreement]."

The South Korean government has said that family reunions and disarmament talks are its priorities in its engagement with North Korea.

About 7.6 million South Koreans -- or 15 percent of the population -- have relatives in the North from whom they have been cut off for decades. The first reunions under the terms of the agreement are set for August 15, when the two Koreas commemorate their liberation from Japan at the end of World War II.

Thousands of South Koreans began applying in the days following the summit, hoping to be among the first to go North to visit their relatives.

'How can we begin to build trust?'

Kim Dae-jung said the summit touched on nuclear weapons, the North's missile arsenal and the 37,000 U.S. troops still based in South Korea, although no agreements were reached on those issues.

A few days after the summit the United States lifted some economic sanctions on North Korea, ending a half-century of embargo on trade in nonmilitary goods, opening air travel and shipping routes, and easing restrictions on U.S. investment in the country.

North Korea responded by reiterating its pledge to refrain from long-range missile tests. Such a test in 1998 sent shock waves through the region when a North Korean missile soared over part of Japan.

"Korean matters can only be dealt with by Koreans, but I think everybody's got to play," Sigal said. "The United States is the big boy on the block. How can we begin to build trust? It's time to start thinking creatively."

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