Prime Minister Han Pays Tribute at the Memorial for the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited the Navy 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 4th, two days before Memorial Day, to pay respects at the 2nd Battle of Yeonpyeong Monument and the Cheonan Ship 46 Heroes Memorial.

This is the first time in nine years that a Prime Minister has personally paid respects at the 2nd Battle of Yeonpyeong Monument since former Prime Minister Jung Hong-won during the Park Geun-hye administration in June 2013.

The Prime Minister's Office explained that Prime Minister Han visited the site considering that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the 2nd Battle of Yeonpyeong, and given the recent frequent missile tests by North Korea, it is necessary to honor the heroes who stood against North Korea's provocations and to remind the importance of security.

Prime Minister Han listened to an explanation about the Battle of Yeonpyeong from the commander of the 2nd Fleet Command and paid respects at the 2nd Battle of Yeonpyeong Monument and the Cheonan Ship 46 Heroes Memorial. He then visited the Cheonan Ship Memorial Hall.

In the guestbook at the Cheonan Ship 46 Heroes Memorial, Prime Minister Han wrote, "We will build a free and prosperous Korea, a strong and robust Korea, so that the noble sacrifices for the nation and the people will not be in vain."

During an encouragement session with the memorial hall staff, Prime Minister Han introduced the process of persuading officials to adopt a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidential statement on the Cheonan Ship attack incident in 2010 when he was the ambassador to the United States.

He explained that he gathered about 60 opinion leaders in Washington DC, including officials from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, and spent over two hours explaining how the ship was broken by a bubble caused by a torpedo, to clarify that the Cheonan Ship attack was caused by a torpedo attack.

Prime Minister Han said, "During the adoption process of the statement, China and Russia opposed it," and added, "I vividly remember working continuously with the Korean Mission to the UN and Susan Rice, then U.S. Ambassador to the UN, to draft the statement, which was eventually issued as a presidential statement."

Afterwards, Prime Minister Han visited a restaurant run by the mother of the late Sergeant Moon Gyu-seok, who died in the Cheonan Ship attack, to offer his condolences.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.