U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend an event next week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, a diplomatic source here said Saturday.
"President Obama plans to deliver a speech at the ceremony to be held at the Korean War Veterans Memorial (in Washington, D.C.) next Saturday," the source told Yonhap News Agency.
Other participants will include Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, according to the source.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye is expected to send a delegation led by Rep. Kim Jung-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party, who chairs the National Policy Committee at the National Assembly.
If Obama joins, he would become the first U.S. president to take part in a formal ceremony to mark the Armistice Day.
On July 27, 1953, the Armistice Agreement was signed to halt the three-year conflict between South Korea, assisted by U.S.-led U.N. troops, and the invading North supported by the Chinese military. According to the U.S. government, 36,573 American troops were killed, with 103,284 others wounded.
In 2006, then-Vice President Dick Cheney participated in the Armistice Day ceremony. Last year, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta attended it.
A government official said, "Usually, a schedule for the U.S. president is finalized. For now, however, President Obama is expected to attend it, although there is a possibility that Vice President Joe Biden will do so on behalf of him in case of an inevitable situation."
Another source said the U.S. government has allocated a total of about $2 million to organize the ceremony, with huge canopies and temporary cooling systems to be set up at the outdoor venue. (Yonhap News)
