Home > National > Diplomacy

Korea returns dog tag of Turkish soldier who died during Korean War

Published: 20 Jun. 2025, 11:47

Lee Keun-won, second from right, director of the Defense Ministry's Agency for KIA (Killed in Action) Recovery and Identification, and Korean and Turkish military officials present a plaque of appreciation to a niece of fallen Turkish soldier Mehmet Caglar, in this photo provided by Lee's office on June 20. [YONHAP]

Korea has returned the identification tag of a Turkish soldier who died 74 years ago while serving in the 1950-53 Korean War, to his bereaved family, the South's Defense Ministry said Friday.

The ministry's Agency for KIA (Killed in Action) Recovery and Identification recovered the dog tag of Army Private Mehmet Caglar during a war excavation project conducted in the border city of Pocheon in April.

Caglar, assumed to have been killed during an operation near Pocheon in 1951, has been laid to rest in the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Korea in the southeastern city of Busan.

Korean and Turkish military officials presented a plaque of appreciation and the retrieved dog tag to a relative of Caglar during a ceremony held in the fallen soldier's hometown of Mersin on Thursday, according to the ministry.

The ministry also presented an "Ambassador for Peace" medal in recognition of the Turkish soldier's service in the three-year conflict.

"We will continue to strive to return the smallest yet precious possessions of the heroes who gave their lives for the Republic of Korea," Lee Keun-won, director of the ministry agency, said.

Turkey dispatched nearly 15,000 soldiers to South Korea during and after the Korean War and suffered casualties, including 741 killed in action and 163 missing, according to the U.N. Command.

Yonhap