Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Ministry of National Defense holds ceremony to enshrine 365 sets of the country’s Korean War troop remains…attended by some 350 people, including Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo

The remains of 365 Republic of Korean troops who fought in the Korean War, which had been buried in battlefields, have finally been laid to rest in their homeland. On December 12th, the Ministry of National Defense held a ceremony to enshrine 365 sets of remains of the country’s fallen troops at the Seoul National Cemetery. Some 350 people, including Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo and representatives of various veterans’ groups, attended the ceremony to pay their respects to the sacrifices these fallen heroes made for their country. 

The remains of the country’s fallen troops that were enshrined this year include 288 sets discovered in frontline and rear areas, 12 sets retrieved in the Arrowhead Ridge area inside the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ), 64 sets honorably welcomed by President Moon on Armed Forces Day, October 1st and one set enshrined in the Republic of Korea-U.S. repatriation ceremony held last July. 

From last March to the end of November, the ministry’s Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification and the 33 divisions and brigades of the Army and Marine Corps discovered 228 sets of war remains as a result of the excavation work performed at 85 sites of fierce battles during the Korean War, including Yanggu, Inje, Cheorwon, Paju and Chilgok. The 12 sets from the Arrowhead Ridge area were retrieved during work on the removal of landmines and road construction from last October 1st through November 30th in preparation for an inter-Korean war remains excavation project, which is planned to take place from April 1 through October 31 next year as a follow-up of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement. The 64 sets welcomed directly by President Moon are the remains of fallen Republic of Korean troops who were identified via joint forensic identification between Republic of Korea and the U.S. in Hawaii and then returned to the bosom of their homeland after 68 years, among the ones excavated jointly by North Korea and the U.S. at the sites of battles in Jangjin, South Hamkyung Province and Gaechon, South Pyeongan Province in North Korea from 1996 to 2005. The one set enshrined during the Republic of Korea-U.S. enshrinement event is the remains of Yun Kyung-heok, who was with the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA), belonging to the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. His remains were discovered together with the remains of American soldiers in Gaechon, South Pyeongan Province in North Korea during the North Korea-U.S. joint excavation work in 2001, and were repatriated via Hawaii on July 13th. 

The Korean War dead excavation project began in April 2000, the fiftieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Since then, it has discovered 10,238 sets of the country‘s troop remains, including those enshrined this year. This year‘s enshrinement ceremony is considered even more meaningful as it commemorated the 12 fallen national heroes recovered in the DMZ, which we have not previously had access to, and the 65 fallen national heroes returned home from the battlefields of North Korea via the U.S. after the joint excavation work between North Korea and the U.S. The remains enshrined on Wednesday will be sent to the central identification laboratory of the ministry’s Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification. Four fallen national heroes, including Park Jae-kwon, second sergeant who was killed in battle at Arrowhead Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, were identified this year. Of the fallen national heroes who have been recovered so far, 131 were identified and returned to the bosom of their families. 

The number of fallen Republic of Korean troops whose remains have yet to be recovered stands at around 123,000, while about 10,000 fallen troops whose remains have been recovered are still unidentified.

The ministry has a plan to increase the manpower and equipment involved in the excavation of remains and form a task force team for finding bereaved families starting next year in order to improve the efficiency of the excavation of the remains of the Korean War dead and their identification. As part of that, the ministry is drawing up various measures to promptly obtain DNA samples from bereaved families, such as by offering rewards to bereaved families who take part in DNA sample collection. The ministry has great expectations for the outcome of the inter-Korean joint excavation project which will be put into practice next year. It is believed that many North Korean and Chinese troops as well as some 200 Republic of Korean soldiers and 100 U.S. and French soldiers are also buried in the Arrowhead Ridge area in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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