SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would achieve victory in “anti-imperalist, anti-U.S.” battles, as the country marked the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, state media reported on Sunday.
Kim “affirmed that our state and its people would surely achieve the great cause of building a rich country with a strong army and become honorable victors in the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. showdown,” KCNA state news agency said, referring to his visit to a war museum on a previous day.
North Korea signed an armistice agreement with the United States and China on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting in the three-year war. U.S. generals signed the agreement representing the United Nations forces that backed South Korea.
North Korea calls July 27 “Victory Day” even though the armistice drew a border dividing the Korean peninsula roughly equally in area and restoring balance after the two sides had made major advances back and forth during the war.
South Korea does not mark the day with any major events.
North Korea is now fighting alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, while Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. It may deploy more troops in July or August, South Korea has said.
Kim also visited memorials honouring the veterans of the 1950-53 war including the Tower of Friendship remembering the Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers who fought with the North Koreans, and met soldiers in an artillery regiment to celebrate the day, state media KCNA said.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
