Bangla2000 | International News - S Koreans to remain vigilant towards N Korea

South Korean men dressed in traditional Royal Court costumes pause for a moment of silence to remember those killed during combat in the Korean War at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the Korean War in Seoul Sunday June 25, 2000. Thousands of South Korean and foreign War veterans gathered at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul to remember their service in the Korean War. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) AP / UNB

SEOUL (AP) - Addressing thousands of military veterans on the 50th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, President Kim Dae-jung on Sunday urged his armed forces to remain alert despite moves toward reconciliation with communist North Korea.

Veterans, some in suits and others in military uniforms, with medals and garlands around their necks, sat under sunny skies at the War Memorial Museum as Kim warned that reuniting the Korean peninsula will require vigilance as well as generosity.

"Until unification is actually fully achieved and a firm guarantee of peace is arranged, we cannot afford to relax," said 75-year-old Kim, whose historic June 13-15 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has eased tensions considerably.

"Firm security should be sustained; peace can be guaranteed only through a tight defense posture. I emphasize that we should not allow the slightest gap in in our security stance," Kim said in a nationally televised speech.

The words of caution came amid elation in the democratic South over the summit in which the two Kims agreed to work toward reunification and end decades of animosity in the wake of their fratricidal war.

North Korea launched the 1950-53 war by invading the South in an attempt to reunify the peninsula. The Cold War conflict, which left up to 5 million people dead, wounded and missing, ended without a

permanent peace treaty and the two Koreas have been locked in a tense standoff ever since.

One of the first conciliatory gestures from both Koreas was to tone down or cancel commemorations of the war.

Seoul canceled a military parade planned for Sunday as well as reenactments of pivotal battles, including the famed amphibious landing at Inchon in September 1950 that reversed North Korean advances. The South instead honored veterans and those slain in combat at the war museum and the National Cemetery.

At the museum, military honor guards carried the flags of the 21 countries that contributed to the U.S.-led U.N. force that fought against North Korean and Chinese troops, and women in traditional

Bill Mosley of Britain, 68, described Korea's deep poverty a half-century ago and sobbed as he recalled comrades who died during his stint in Korea from May 1951 to March 1952.

"I still think of them and it's a bit hard," said Mosley, who was among about 1,000 foreign veterans at the event. Another 4,000 South Korean veterans also attended.

Another veteran, 71-year-old Benjamin Santos of the Philippines, told how his unit lost 10 men when it was ambushed by North Korean soldiers during a frontline patrol in June 1952.

"But I'm proud and grateful I have fought to promote peace in South Korea and I pray that there will be a complete peace and unification in Korea," he said.

In his speech, President Kim reiterated points of understanding that he reached with his North Korean counterpart. He said they included his belief that U.S. troops deployed in South Korea should remain on the peninsula even after unification to maintain the balance of power in Northeast Asia.

"The North showed substantial understanding on my explanation on the need for the U.S. troops," Kim said. "I am reporting this to you as a major accomplishment made during my visit to Pyongyang."

However, on at least two occasions since the summit, North Korea has repeated its longtime demand for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. In the past, the North has often engaged in fiery rhetoric against

In a ceremony at the Seoul cemetery where 50,000 Korean War dead are buried, veterans prayed, burned incense and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The veterans included Fidel Ramos, former president of the Philippines, and Paik Sun Yup, an 82-year-old former general who was South Korea's top military commander during the war. Togo West, the U.S. secretary of veterans affairs, was also present.

The three men honored the dead by tolling a giant bronze bell in the cemetery, which is nestled in a valley between two low hills overlooking the Han, a river that bisects Seoul.

"In Pyongyang, I stressed that if another war broke out, it would be different from the one we had," President Kim said. "If that happened the whole nation would be decimated by the use of extremely advanced weapons of mass destruction. We should never dream of unification by force or absorbing the other side."