Seoul: The veterans ministry announced that a lighting ceremony will be held in Seoul this week to honor South Korean service members who were killed during military clashes with North Korea while defending the western maritime border.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the three-day ceremony will commence on Wednesday evening at Cheonggye Plaza in central Seoul. It will feature 55 beams of light symbolizing the 55 sailors and Marines who lost their lives in significant clashes with North Korea near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas.

The lights are scheduled to be illuminated each evening from 8 p.m. to 8:55 p.m., concluding on Friday, which coincides with this year's West Sea Defense Day. This event pays tribute to those who sacrificed their lives defending the NLL.

The waters near the NLL have historically been a point of conflict between the two Koreas, witnessing three naval skirmishes in 1999, 2002, and 2009. The 2002 clash resulted in the deaths of six South Korean sailors.

In March 2010, a South Korean warship was torpedoed by Pyongyang near the boundary, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors. Another service member lost their life during rescue operations. Later that year, in November, North Korea bombarded South Korea's border island of Yeonpyeong, killing two Marines and two civilians.