Japan and world mark 80th anniversaries of atomic bombings

Remembrances in Japan, the United States and elsewhere mark the 80th anniversaries of the only instances of atomic weapons being used in military conflict and against civilian populations.

The nature of global conflict changed permanently when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on different Japanese cities three days apart in August 1945, with combined casualty figures estimated at more than 200,000 by the end of that year.

Kunihiko Iida, 83, is among the remaining survivors and a volunteer guide at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, according to Korean JoongAng Daily.

He leads tours of the memorial's exhibits and shares his own experience regarding the horrors wrought by one of the world's two most powerful weapons that ever have been used in military conflict.

Survivors tell th