WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A group of American scholars and dignitaries said Tuesday that they will launch a fresh campaign this week to boost the slow-moving efforts to construct the first formal Korean War museum in the United States.

Dozens of former U.S. ambassadors to Seoul, scholars and others interested in Korea affairs have been seeking to build the Korean War National Museum since 1997. The process has been stalled due to funding problems.

The group will “kick off its campaign with a panel discussion by our distinguished guests” in Washington on Thursday, according to Victor Cha, who holds the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Participants in the event will include former ambassador to South Korea Thomas Hubbard, retired Army general John Tilelli, and Jack Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Insitute.

The project “aims to build a world class museum in New York City with a mission to honor the veterans, educate citizens and future generations, preserve the legacy and history of the war and celebrate ‘the forgotten victory,’” Cha said.

More than 30,000 American troops were killed in the 1950-53 war, which ended in a ceasefire, not a formal peace treaty.