Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

“The ROK and the UN nations that participated in the Korean War will continue to push forward with various veterans projects, including the excavation of remains”
Minister Suh expected to “strengthen bilateral cooperation in rewarding veterans”
Work to recover and identify five missing soldiers killed in the war to be accelerated

On December 7, Minister of National Defense Suh Wook clarified that the ministry will continue to push forward with a number of veterans' projects, including the excavation of the remains of the United Nations (UN) and Korean soldiers who died in the Korean War.

On that day, Suh made the announcement at a meeting with Netherlands Ambassador to Korea Joanne Doornewaard, held to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to identify Netherlands soldiers who participated in the Korean War and remained unrecovered.

Suh expressed his willingness to “continue to push forward with various veterans projects including the excavation of the remains of (UN and Korean soldiers who died in the Korean War)," adding for emphasis that “our government will never forget the sacrifices and dedication of the UN soldiers who participated in the Korean War to protect the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea (ROK) 70 years ago.” “With this MOU on the excavation and identification of the Netherlands soldiers who remained unrecovered as momentum, we will do our best to make the fallen soldiers return to the bosom of their homelands as soon as possible,” he said, stressing “I expect bilateral cooperation to be strengthened based on this opportunity.”

Suh also expressed thanks to Ambassador Doornewaard for her efforts to strengthen the friendship between the ROK and the UN nations that participated in the Korean War. “I deeply appreciate that you have fulfilled an important mission as ‘chairperson of the International Management Committee for a UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea’ for one year since last November, and that you made efforts to strengthen the friendship between the ROK and the UN nations that participated in the Korean War while in office,” he said.

The signing of this MOU is part of the ROK government’s project to reward the dedication of the UN nations that participated in the Korean War, as well as the implementation of a response to a request to identify missing Netherlands soldiers unrecovered during the Korean War, which was brought up at an event to welcome the Prime Minister of the Netherlands on his visit to Korea in February 2018.

An official from the ministry said that a total of 16 UN nations, including the Netherlands, participated in the Korean War, and about 600 missing persons remain unrecovered. 5322 soldiers from the Netherlands in both the Army and Navy participated in the war, engaging in battles in ten areas including Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.

A total of 768 soldiers were damaged by these battles, including 120 fallen soldiers (with one missing), 645 wounded soldiers, and 3 captives. Five of the fallen soldiers remain unrecovered or missing. The signing of this MOU will pave the way to implementing the prompt recovery and identification of the bodies of the five soldiers.

The signing of the MOU will also allow the ROK to build up a system for the investigation, excavation and analysis of the DNA data of the Netherlands soldiers who remain missing-in-action following the Korean War, which will allow the Netherlands to offer the information related to the fallen soldiers and their bereaved families necessary for identification.

The ministry expects that the signing of the MOU will produce tangible results including the recovery of the remains of soldiers from the Netherlands recorded missing at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and the border area by linking with the work to expand the excavation of war remains in DMZ.

Significantly, the ministry expects that it will strengthen cooperation with the nations that participated in the Korean War for the work to ‘identify the missing soldiers who remained unrecovered.’

“I was greatly impressed by the last Korean War anniversary ceremony and the enshrinement ceremony of the remains of Korean soldiers,” Doornewaard said. “I expect the signing of this MOU will pave the way to strengthening our bilateral cooperation, as it is an important priority for both Netherlands and ROK to return those who dedicated themselves to their countries to the bosom of their homelands and families as soon as possible.”

By Chae-Mu, Im <lims86@dema.mil.kr >

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