Australian digger Vince Healy and his mother's search for his grave in Korea have featured in Seoul's official ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of peace on the peninsula.
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With the world's focus on a possible end to the Korean War following US President Donald Trump's Singapore meeting with North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, Friday's event in Seoul marked 65 years since the signing of the armistice between the warring sides.
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon spoke at the ceremony at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul that honoured the UN forces, including Australia and New Zealand, that fought for democracy and freedom in the South in the 1950-53 war.
Australia was the first of 21 nations in the UN force to have boots on the ground in 1950.
Sergeant Healy - killed in action on March, 1951 - was one of 339 Australians who died fighting the Communist North, supported by Russia and China.
A decade later, his mother Thelma was the first civilian to travel to a still war-ravaged South Korea to find his grave in the southern port city of Pusan, now called Busan.
The family's story was a highlight of the ceremony in Seoul, with Korean actors playing the roles of Vince and Thelma in a seven-minute re-enactment.
Louise Evans, who wrote the book Passage to Pusan, which tells the story of her Uncle Vince and grandmother Thelma's journey to Korea, thanked the Korean government for continuing to honour the legacy of the Korean veterans and UN forces.
"My family is eternally grateful to the Korean people, especially war widow Kim Cheung Keun, for taking such great care of my Uncle Vince's grave in Busan for the past 65 years," Ms Evans told the ceremony.
The 65th anniversary of the armistice was also marked by North Korea returning what is believed to be the remains of US troops killed during the war.
Australian Associated Press
