65th Anniversary of Korean War： South ＆ North still divided 종전 65주년 분단의 현실

Tomorrow... marks 65 years since North Korean troops supported by China and the Soviet Union invaded South Korea... and started the Korean War. To this day，... the two Koreas are still technically at war. The division has also prevented thousands of families from seeing each other. Connie Kim spoke to those who strongly feel the harsh reality of separation. ″About one－point－five kilometers from where I′m standing is North Korean territory. It seems close， but it′s been like another world for more than 60 years， as Korea is still the world′s only divided country.″ The Korean Peninsula remains visibly split by heavily secured barbed－wire fences that stretch nearly 250 kilometers across the general outpost the buffer zone between the South and the North. It stands as a disheartening symbol of the countries′ separation ever since the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953. Nam Tae－wan like his father has been guarding Korea′s Demilitarized Zone. ″My grandfather participated in the Korean War and my father served at the GOP. So I feel a strong sense of responsiblity to guard the border line.″ The reality that families torn apart by the war remain separated even though they live on the same land... is still hard to accept to this day. Kyung Seon－bong， who for the past 41 years has been living in the Unification Village， located just behind the DMZ， says this is the closest she can get to her hometown in North Korea. ″I moved here because I wanted to be close to the North. But time has passed by so quickly… I don′t know if the two Koreas will reunify before I die.″ Fleeing with her uncle to the South a year after the war broke out， she never imagined she would ever see her parents， her brothers and sisters again. ″If reunification comes， I want to go visit my hometown first. I don′t know if I′ll find my younger brothers there，… but I want to walk the streets of my village. I can still vividly remember the roads of my town.″ More than 129－thousand South Koreans are registered as having separated families in the North. Only about half are still alive today，... desperately waiting to see their loved ones... one last time. Connie Kim， Arirang News， Paju.