Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se honored the 21 countries that fought in the Korean War at an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the armistice on Wednesday.

“We will be ever together,” read the plaque of appreciation that Yun offered the ambassadors and other diplomats from the U.S., Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, Ethiopia and other nations that together sent 2 million troops, supplies and aid as part the U.N. forces. 

“They sacrificed their youth to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met, and became the light of hope in the darkness of despair,” Yun said in a speech at the ministry’s headquarters.

“We will forever remember the noble and invaluable sacrifices made by the veterans of the U.N. Forces. … (The Korean War) is a living history that will be with us for eternity; it is a proud memory of the bond of brotherhood we share.”

In a following address, U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim praised South Korea’s rapid ascent from the ashes of war to an “international donor, powerhouse of global trade and beacon of freedom and hope.”

The 1950-53 war left the peninsula in ruins, around 4 million people dead or wounded and more than 10 million separated from their families.

The two Koreas technically remain at war as the three-year battle ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

To mark the armistice’s 60th anniversary, the South Korean government plans to host the representatives of member countries of the U.N. Forces at a national event here on Saturday. It has also been operating the “Revisit Korea” program for veterans and offering scholarships to their offspring.

“Before long, most of the veterans won’t be here ― they would have died because they’re getting old. So maybe this is the last big anniversary. By the time you have the 70th anniversary not many veterans will be left,” Australian Ambassador William Patterson told The Korea Herald.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)