NO GUN RI GLOBAL PEACE FORUM

[Anchor Lead]

It's been 70 years since the No Gun Ri massacre -- a painful part of Korea's modern history occurred. Hundreds of civilians were killed by U.S. forces during the Korean War. An international forum related to the massacre is underway in Korea, to overcome the pain and promote world peace and human rights

[Pkg]

In July 1950, about a month after the Korean War broke out, some 300 refugees were killed in a U.S. attack in Nogeun-ri, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. Yang Hae-chan is the representative of the victims' bereaved families. Jorja Reyburn is the daughter of an American general who went missing in the battle of Nakdonggang. The descendants of the Korean victims and those of American Korean War veterans embrace each other. They met at a forum marking the 70th anniversary of the tragic event when American troops, pushed back by the North Korean army, killed refugees who were hiding under a railroad bridge.

[Soundbite] JORJA REYBURN(DAUGHTER OF U.S. KOREAN WAR VETERAN)

A former AP reporter and Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee also attended the forum. She publicized the massacre to the world to help find the truth behind the killings. She won the Nobel prize for her contribution to ending the civil war in Liberia through a nonviolent female peace movement.

[Soundbite] LEYMAH GBOWEE(PEACE ACTIVIST & NOBEL LAUREATE) : "There can be no genuine peace without reconciliation and justice."

The surviving victims and bereaved families hope that the tragic site will be reborn into a venue of human rights and peace.

[Soundbite] CHUNG KOO-DO(NO GUN RI INTERNATIONAL PEACE FOUNDATION) : "Rather than holding on to the past, the people of Korea and the U.S. must remember each other and help heal each other's wounds."

The No Gun Ri Global Peace Forum will be held for four days to promote the universal value of human rights and peace around the world.