Vietnam’s government plans to build a memorial to the North Korean soldiers who perished during the Vietnam War, state media announced this week, casting a rare light on the country’s role in the conflict.
According to a Reuters report that cited Quan Doi Nhan Dan, a newspaper published by the Ministry of Defense, the memorial project was discussed at a meeting chaired by Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Truong Thang in Hanoi on Monday. Also in attendance was North Korean Ambassador Ri Sung Guk.
“The Party, State, people, and People’s Army of Vietnam always cherish and remember the effective assistance of North Korea and the sacrifices of North Korean martyrs in its struggle for national independence in the past,” Quan Doi Nhan Dan quoted Thang as saying, according to the news agency.
The memorial will be built at an existing cemetery for North Korean “martyrs” in the northern province of Bac Ninh outside Hanoi, the report said. The cemetery contains headstones commemorating 14 North Korean pilots, including two officers, who were sent to support the North Vietnamese air force during its war against the U.S.-backed South Vietnam in the 1960s. The headstones face northeast, in the direction of Korea. The cemetery is also set to be refurbished under the Defense Ministry’s plans.
