A large number of South Korean people on Sunday held various anti-war and pro-unification rallies in Seoul to mark the country's independence from Japan.

About 10,000 people gathered at Yonsei University in downtown Seoul, calling for the fulfillment of the South-North Joint Declaration signed at the summit between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Il in June 2000, as well as for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, said Yonhap News Agency.

Members of the group Unification Solidarity and the outlawed South Korean Federation of University Students Councils demanded close national cooperation with the DPRK.

Participants at the rally also denounced the President Roh Moo-hyun administration's policy to send troops to Iraq to help the US-led coalition there.

Other civic groups such as the People Supporting Peace and Unification said they opposed South Korea's military alliance with the United States and called for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Members of the Peace Network of Korea said more efforts should be made to resolve the nuclear arms issue on the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.

Source: Xinhua