Siren to signal moment of silence for veterans on Memorial Day

A person pays respect at Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, southern Seoul on Monday, a day ahead of Memorial Day in Korea. [YONHAP]

A minute-long siren will sound on Tuesday morning in Korea to usher in a moment of national silence and let people pay their tributes to veterans on Memorial Day.

The siren will ring at 10 a.m. after the memorial day ceremony begins at 9:55 a.m. at Seoul National Cemetery.

The Interior Ministry on Monday informed the public not to be surprised by the siren, with Seoul residents recently alarmed by a false alarm air raid siren last week.

The siren, which sounded at 6:41 a.m. last Wednesday, advised residents to seek shelter. But a follow-up message sent 22 minutes later via the emergency communication system said the earlier warning was "sent in error."

“The public had been alerted by a siren in Seoul due to North Korea’s launch of reconnaissance satellite,” an official from the Interior Ministry said.

North Korea launched a projectile, which it claimed was a space launch vehicle, southward from North Pyongan Province at 6:29 a.m. that day.

“The siren that will be heard tomorrow is not an air raid siren due to an attack from the North so the public can return to their normal lives after silently paying their respects for a minute.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]