▲ The Korean Central News Agency reported on September 23 that "a delegation of the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, headed by Vice-Minister of National Defence Comrade Ryo Chol-ung, departed Pyongyang on September 22 to visit the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."
A monument commemorating the North Korean military's participation in the Vietnam War is being erected in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today (September 28) that an unveiling ceremony for a thematic plaque, installed on the pedestal of a group sculpture of Korean People's Army soldiers to be erected in the outdoor exhibition area of the Vietnam Military History Museum, was held on site on September 25.
The ceremony was attended by the Ministry of National Defence delegation headed by Vice Minister of National Defence Ryo Chol-ung, who is currently visiting Vietnam, as well as Ri Sung-guk, North Korean Ambassador to Vietnam.
From the Vietnamese side, attendees included Vice Minister of National Defence Nguyen Truong Thang, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army Le Quang Minh, and officials from the Vietnam Military History Museum.
During the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1969, North Korea dispatched 200 to 400 air force personnel, including 90 pilots, and is known to have shot down 26 U.S. aircraft in aerial combat.
With an honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army lined up on both sides of the memorial sculpture, Vice Minister of National Defence Ryo Chol-ung and Vice Minister of National Defence Nguyen Truong Thang removed the veil, revealing a plaque inscribed with the words "Feelings of Friendship Between Vietnam and Korea."
KCNA reported that an explanatory plaque stated, "Korea (North Korea) contributed to the victory of the Vietnamese revolution by providing material and moral support and dispatching experts to help during the period of the Vietnamese people's anti-U.S. resistance war for national salvation."
The North Korean Ministry of National Defence delegation also visited Bac Ninh City in northern Vietnam, where a memorial cemetery for Korean People's Army martyrs is located, and laid flowers at the memorial monument.
North Korea and Vietnam formed a "blood alliance" when they established diplomatic relations in January 1950.
Ties cooled following Vietnam's 1978 invasion of Cambodia's pro-China regime and the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Vietnam, but relations recovered significantly in 2019 when State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un made an official visit to Vietnam on the occasion of the North Korea–U.S. summit.
The Ministry of National Defence delegation departed Pyongyang on September 22 to visit Vietnam.
(Photo: KCNA, Yonhap News)
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