By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- The commander of the United Nations Command (UNC) said Monday the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War has served to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea and allied nations marked the 73rd anniversary of the ceasefire.

UNC Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson made the remarks in an X post, honoring the 22 countries that fought or provided medical support under the U.N. flag against North Korean and Chinese forces during the three-year conflict.

"The Armistice Agreement is not a peace treaty, but it has provided a framework for preserving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula for 73 years," Brunson said in the post.

He called the veterans a "living bridge between the battlefield of yesterday and the peace we safeguard today."

"Their legacy reminds us that preserving the Armistice requires steadfast commitment, unwavering vigilance and credible readiness," he said. "There is no substitute for being ready."

The Armistice Agreement was signed between the UNC and the North Korean and Chinese militaries on July 27, 1953, to temporarily halt the conflict, leaving the two Koreas technically at war to this day.

The agreement established the Military Demarcation Line along the actual front lines to stop the fighting, with both sides pulling back 2 kilometers from the line to create a 4-km-wide buffer zone, known as the Demilitarized Zone, that now divides the two Koreas.

The U.S.-led UNC administers and enforces the Armistice Agreement.

While South Korea observes July 27 as "U.N. Forces Participation Day" to honor fallen troops and thank the 22 U.N. member states that came to its defense, North Korea celebrates it as "Victory Day," claiming to have defeated the U.N.-led forces.

elly@yna.co.kr

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