On June 14, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense signed an agreement to work together to clear unexploded bombs and mines from major battlefields from the Vietnam War (1954-1975).
The agreement was signed between Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh and Director Chang Jae-yun of the KOICA Vietnam Office.
With this agreement, the two countries will invest USD 20 million into the clearance of unexploded ordnances scattered across an 8,000-hectare span of land in the central area of Binh Dinh and Quang Binh provinces. The project will kick off this year and continue until 2020.
Korea and Vietnam vow to join forces to get rid of unexploded bombs and mines that have been left unremoved since the Vietnam War. Pictured is a captured image of an article published on June 15 by a Vietnamese news outlet that shows the two governments signing an agreement to work together to remove unexploded ordnance.
Prior to this cooperative effort, the Korean Ministry of National Defense invited high-ranking officials from Vietnam specialized in mine removal to Korea from Nov. 16 to 27 last year. During their 12-day training program, the Vietnamese experts paid visits to the nation’s military educational organizations, including the ROK Army Engineer School and the Consolidated Army Logistics School, as well as to a national mine disposal squat. They observed a demonstration on removing unexploded bombs and mines and had some hands-on practice themselves.
According to the defense ministry, it is believed that approximately 20 percent of Vietnamese territory contains unexploded mines or bombs. Since 2010, the Vietnamese government has endeavored to eliminate such unexploded shells, for example, by laying out its 2010-2023 Plan to Clear Unexploded Mines & Bombs Across Vietnam, and setting up the 504 Committee, a government-led project to clear the country of mines.
By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: KOICA Hanoi Office
whan23@korea.kr
