South Korea Holds First National Memorial for Korean War Abductees

South Korea on Saturday marked a historic moment by holding its first national commemoration for citizens abducted by North Korea during the 1950–1953 Korean War, pledging renewed efforts to resolve humanitarian issues stemming from the peninsula’s decades-long division.

At the memorial event in the border city of Paju, Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung described the abductions as “one of the darkest legacies of division and war” and emphasized that resolving the fate of the abductees is a “fundamental duty of the state.”

“We can no longer delay the urgent task of confirming the fate of abducted loved ones and easing the pain carried by their families,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News.

The remembrance ceremony comes amid a broader call by the South Korean government to revive inter-Korean dialogue and ease tensions with Pyongyang. President Lee Jae-myung earlier this month urged an end to “exhausting hostilities” and called for the reopening of communication channels with North Korea.

Kim echoed that sentiment, saying: “In moving from confrontation to reconciliation, we will make efforts to heal the pain of national division and the suffering of families of wartime abductees.”

South Korea officially designated June 28 as Korean War Abductees Remembrance Day in 2024. Seoul estimates that approximately 100,000 South Koreans were abducted by the North during and after the war. Many of their families have waited decades for answers, with little to no information about their fate.

The Unification Ministry pledged to expand its efforts to reduce military tensions and pursue lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula while addressing unresolved humanitarian tragedies.