The Korea Herald

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Envoy says China's intervention in Korean War safeguarded peace

By KH디지털2

Published : Oct. 1, 2015 - 14:32

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The Chinese intervention in the 1950-53 Korean War had safeguarded peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, according to China's ambassador to North Korea on Thursday, echoing controversial views from China that the war was waged out of U.S. aggression.

Ambassador Li Jinjun made the remarks on Wednesday when he paid his tribute to the Chinese troops killed during the war. Wednesday marked China's Martyrs' Day on the eve of the country's National Day.

The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the United Nations flag, while Chinese soldiers came to help North Korea. The conflict ended in a cease-fire on July 27, 1953.

During his visit to a cemetery of Chinese war dead in North Korea, Li praised the role of the Chinese intervention in the Korean War.

"You fought with the North Korean army and people to defeat the imperialist aggressors," Li said, according to his remarks posted on the Chinese Embassy's website.

The Chinese intervention in the Korean War "revived the cold breeze of China, safeguarded peace and stability in the region and around the world," Li said.

Despite warming ties between South Korea and China, the Chinese view of how the Korean War started also remains controversial.

China's school textbooks stop short of mentioning that North Korea's invasion sparked the Korean War, and the Chinese Communist Party officially refers to the three-year conflict as "The War to Resist the U.S. and Aid North Korea." (Yonhap)