RANGOON — South Korea unveiled a memorial Friday to the victims of a North Korean commando attack more than 30 years ago in Burma.
North Korean commandos staged the attack during a visit by the then South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan in October 1983 at the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon. Chun was unhurt but 21 other people including 17 South Korean senior officials died and nearly 50 were wounded.
A 1.5-meter (five-foot) high stone monument with names of those killed was built outside the mausoleum.
Visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and family members of the victims attended the ceremony Friday near the site where the bombing took place.
Burma severed diplomatic relations with North Korea after the attack but restored relations in 2007.
Friday was a national holiday in South Korea for Memorial Day to honor the people who died during military service in the 1950-53 Korean War.
