(CNN) -- North and South Korea marked the 60th anniversary of the Korean War with sober commemorations and sharp rhetoric as tensions continued to ripple between the two countries over the sinking in March of a South Korean warship.
North Korea -- which took the opportunity to blame the United States for causing nearly $65 trillion in "human and material damage" over the last six decades -- continued to ramp up its rhetoric, accusing America of "persistently antagonizing" the country over the sinking of the Cheonan.
South Korea blames North Korea for the sinking, which left 46 people dead, but Pyongyang hotly denies the claim. Top South Korean officials on Friday urged the North to stop its provocations as they honored the war dead at ceremonies.
The North Korean People's Army invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, in what would become known as the Korean War. The fighting ended on July 27, 1953, when an armistice agreement was signed. Since there has never been a peace treaty, the Korean War has technically never ended.
While there have been efforts over the years to defuse hostilities and pursue peace and stability, great anguish has emerged over the Cheonan, which South Korea says was sunk by a torpedo.
At a national ceremony on Friday commemorating the start of the war, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged North Korea to stop what he says are military provocations. The Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying "our ultimate goal is not a military confrontation but peaceful reunification".
In another ceremony in South Korea, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said, "the Cheonan incident reminded us of the sad reality of the divided South and North".
Yonhap quoted Gen. Walter Sharp, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, as saying North Korean provocations would be deterred.
"True peace cannot exist when North Korea resorts to force and violence," Sharp is quoted as saying. "The North Korean leadership must know that any further provocations will be dealt with swiftly and decisively".
North Korea's Korean Central News Agency, meanwhile, cited an article in the North's ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, that said the South Korean government is trying to escalate a confrontation with North Korea.
