SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean military hosted an exchange event Wednesday with troops representing the member states of the United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea, ahead of their participation in an upcoming combined exercise between South Korea and the United States, military officials said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) invited 66 soldiers from 11 of the 18 UNC member states to the "friendship-building" event at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, as the troops are set to take part in the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise starting next Monday.

The UNC, which administers and enforces the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, has sent its soldiers to the UFS drills as reinforcement troops providing a supporting role.

The event was organized to express gratitude for the dedication and efforts of the UNC member-state troops participating in the UFS and to further strengthen ties based on the trust they have built together, the JCS said in a statement.

As part of the event, the troops also visited the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom to observe the security environment on the Korean Peninsula firsthand and learn the historical significance of the Korean War, the JCS added.

Among the participants were the descendants of Australian and New Zealand war veterans who fought alongside South Korean forces under the U.N. flag.

elly@yna.co.kr

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