Soviet soldiers commemorated in North Korea

19:35, 15 August 2011

PYONGYANG. August 15. KAZINFORM The solemn ceremony of laying wreaths at the monument to Soviet soldiers was held here on Monday to mark the 66th anniversary of the liberation of Korea. There is an inscription on the monument: "Eternal glory to the Great Soviet Army that liberated the Korean people from the yoke of the Japanese militarists and opened the way for them to freedom and independence."

The ceremony was attended by North Korean military leaders, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), foreign diplomatic missions, military attaches, Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Valery Sukhinin, employees of Russian institutions. A guard of honour was stationed at the monument, and the orchestra of the DPRK Ministry of People's Armed Forces played a military march; Kazinform cites Itar-Tass.

After that the ceremony participants laid flowers at the cemetery where Soviet Army soldiers and citizens of the USSR are buried. The memorial and funeral service there was held by head of the Moscow Patriarchate Administration for Institutions Abroad Archbishop Mark of Yegoryevsk. He arrived in North Korea for a visit leading a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the consecration of the temple of the Holy Life-giving Trinity in Pyongyang.

There are 12 military memorial sites in North Korea at present that keep the memory of Soviet soldiers who died in Korea in 1945 in the battles with the Japanese army. In addition to Pyongyang, there are memorials, monuments and graves also in the cities of Chongjn, Hamhung, Wonsan, Rajin, Haeju, Nampho, Sinuiju, and many others. According to the Russian embassy in the capital of North Korea, a total of 1,372 Soviet citizens, including 991 soldiers, are buried in the country's territory.

The heroism of Soviet soldiers who died for the liberation of Korea, "will live forever in the hearts of the Korean people," DPRK Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Ryong Nam said at a reception at the Russian Embassy on the occasion of the Korea liberation anniversary. According to him, the "bonded by blood" friendship relations formed in the joint struggle against Japanese imperialism now continue to develop in all spheres. DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, the minister said, the same as before, "gives serious attention to the development of Korean-Russian relations."

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