Korea International Cooperation Agency said Monday it had hosted several events to raise awareness of land mines and unexploded bombs in Vietnam, marking the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, which fell on Thursday.

A state-run aid group here, KOICA has been working to remove land mines and unexploded bombs still buried in parts of Vietnam, together with the Vietnam National Mine Action Center and United Nations Development Program since 2016. 

The explosives, left over from the Vietnam War, are still buried in about 19 percent of the land, according to the Vietnamese government.

The four-year project aims to improve the safety of Vietnamese people, especially those in the central region, and to enhance the living environment, KOICA said. A budget of $20 million was planned for the project.

Since the project began, about 4,600 square kilometers in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh provinces have been completed with landmine detection and education to raise landmine awareness was conducted to 4,500 residents in the region were trained, KOICA said.

“I believe the project would contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam for it to meet the Sustainable Development Goals,” Kim Jin-oh, the chief of KOICA’s Vietnam Office said in a press release.

Conducting a joint land removal project in Vietnam was first raised during the Korea-Vietnam summit in 2014.

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action was first declared in the UN General Assembly, as part of its efforts to promote Sustainable Development Goals, on Dec. 8, 2005. It calls on member states to support countries that suffer from the threats of land mines and explosive remnants of war.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)