War memorial unveiled in Korea

Prime Minister Helen Clark (right, rear) and other Apec leaders in Busan posed for photographers wearing a traditional Korean silk garment, known as the 'Hanbok'. Picture / Reuters

The Prime Minister has unveiled an impressive war memorial in Busan, South Korea.

In a moving ceremony involving 17 New Zealand veterans of the Korean War, Helen Clark said New Zealand was one of the first countries to respond to a UN call for troops to repel the Chinese.

The PM says the memorial is a fitting tribute to the 6,000 New Zealanders who fought in Korea, and the 45 who never came home.

The design recalls the moko of a Maori woman, which Helen Clark says evokes the suffering of women whose loved ones were killed in war.

It also represents New Zealand as the mother of all who left the safety of home to fight in Korea.

The memorial was carved from Coromandel granite, with 45 cuts, each cut representing one of the men who lost his life.

- NEWSTALK ZB