STORY: S. Korean activists call for peace ahead of 70th anniversary of armistice agreement
DATELINE: July 23, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:07
LOCATION: Seoul
CATEGORY: POLITICS
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of peace march and rally held by South Korean civic activists
 
STORYLINE:
 
South Korean civic activists on Saturday shouted for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world ahead of the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
   
Peace activists and ordinary people marched hundreds of meters from the Seoul plaza to the Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to demand eased tensions on the peninsula and settlement of the peninsula issues through dialogue.
   
The participants chanted slogans and held placards saying "Stop hostilities and go for peace now," "Let's open the door to dialogue by stopping combined South Korea-U.S. military exercises," and "Oppose South Korea-U.S.-Japan military cooperation."
   
The march opened a peace rally, organized by the Korea Peace Appeal which is composed of hundreds of civic and religious groups in South Korea as well as tens of overseas anti-war groups.
   
The association was launched to actively stage a peace movement marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice treaty that falls on July 27.
   
The peace association urged every party concerned to stop hostilities, which only brought about a vicious cycle of endless arms races and military threats, stressing that unilateral sanctions and military pressure led to a new level of military crisis.
   
It noted that the South Korea-U.S. military exercises, which are an aggressive war game, should be stopped for the resumption of dialogue, emphasizing its stern opposition to the South Korea-U.S.-Japan military cooperation triggering a possible confrontation with other neighboring countries.
   
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Seoul.
(XHTV)