Experts begin checking Korean War remains
Forensic experts from South Korea and the United States began joint identification work on Tuesday for remains believed to be from soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The two sides plan to work together for the next four days to analyze remains that have been discovered during excavation work over the past several years at major battle sites, including those in Paju, Gyeonggi, according to the ministry.
Though the exact number of remains that will go through the identification process is not known, they include three sets of remains believed to be from soldiers from European nations, the ministry noted.
The project this time involves some 10 South Korean officials and five experts from the U.S. Defense POW and MIA Accounting Agency.
Since 2007, South Korea and the U.S. have conducted such joint projects aimed at determining the identities of war remains two to four times per year. Last year, they confirmed the identities of 65 Korean and two U.S. soldiers killed during the war and repatriated them to their families.
Since last month, the South Korean military has carried out a demining and excavation project on Arrowhead Ridge, a former battle site inside the DMZ that separates the two Koreas, and found a total of 92 pieces of bones.
The operation was supposed to be a joint project with North Korea, under the inter-Korean military agreement signed September last year, but Pyongyang has not responded to requests to carry it out, leaving Seoul to conduct the operation alone.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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