Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Ministry of National Defense provides masks to Korean War veterans in Belgium and Luxemburg: In phone talks with President Moon, Belgium’s King expresses thanks

Having prevailed in the fight against COVID-19 thanks to its prompt response, the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been working to help the international community by sending face masks to the nations that took part in the Korean War.

On May 19, the Ministry of National Defense said that special events to provide masks to United Nations’ veterans who fought in the Korean War had been held by the committee working on the project to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean War.

The ministry reported that a mask delivery event to provide 21,000 masks (20,000 for Belgium, 1,000 for Luxemburg) had taken place in Belgium and Luxemburg, respectively, on May 12 and May 13. After providing 10,000 masks and 200 masks to veterans and their bereaved families in Belgium and Luxemburg, respectively, the government delivered additional masks to military medical teams fighting against COVID-19 in the field.

The masks were sent to the bereaved families of the veterans through the unit for the veterans after arriving at the airport in Belgium on May 9.

A string of messages of thanks followed. Significantly, King Philippe of Belgium expressed his thanks in the phone talks with President Moon Jae-in on May 15. “Belgium has valued the ROK since our participation in the Korean War, 70 years ago. We thank the ROK for providing masks to our veterans.”

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >

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