Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

MAKRI conducts joint efforts in identifying remains of Korean and US servicemen

—Conducted a collaborative effort to identify the remains of presumed US servicemen discovered at Arrowhead Hill

—Established a timeline for a joint identification process of presumed remains of Korean soldiers, while exploring the potential of presenting their findings jointly at a forensic science symposium

The MND Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification (MAKRI) collaborated with the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in a joint effort to identify four sets of remains believed to belong to unrecovered missing US soldiers. The identification process took place on May 15 and 16 at the Central Identification Laboratory operated by MAKRI.

Dr. John E. Byrd, the Laboratory Director of DPAA, and Dr. Jin Ju-hyeon, the Project Manager, visited MAKRI to collaborate on the joint identification process of the presumed remains of US soldiers recovered by MAKRI.

Both institutions established a schedule for jointly identifying the presumed remains of Korean soldiers currently held by the DPAA. They also discussed the possibility of presenting their findings together at a forensic science symposium organized by the DPAA in Hawaii in September. Moving forward, both parties will maintain close cooperation to strengthen their capabilities and improve the identification process.