Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney (front, seventh from right) and Canadian Korean War veterans pose April 23, 2013, at the joint security area at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea. Blaney and the veterans travelled to Korea to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. They paid tribute to the 27,000 Canadians who served in the Korean War, including the 516 Canadians who gave their lives defending South Korea's freedom. The DMZ, which was designated as the joint security area on July 27, 1953, when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, serves as a buffer zone between the North and South. Veterans Affairs Canada