A senior Pentagon official has mourned the passing of Korean War hero Paik Sun-yup, calling him a "stalwart friend" of the alliance between South Korea and the United States.

In a message delivered via the Korea-US Alliance Foundation on Wednesday, David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said Paik's passing is a "great loss" to the armed forces of both countries.

"He was a stalwart friend of the Alliance and a man of great devotion to the Republic of Korea," Helvey said. "We mourn with you, but take comfort knowing that we will go together for years to come."

Paik, South Korea's first four-star general and the best-known hero of the 1950-53 war, died Friday at age 99. His body was buried at the National Cemetery in the central city of Daejeon. (Yonhap)