Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Sending the remains of 437 Chinese who died in the 6·25 Korean War back to China at the end of the month

Additionally excavated bodies will be sent to China regularly every year
 

The remains of 437 Chinese who were killed in the 6·25 Korean War and buried in Korea will be sent to China at the end of this month.

Korea and China held the coffin rites ceremony at a morgue for Chinese remains in the Paju area, Gyeonggi-do, on March 17.

Starting with this ceremony, we will proceed with casketing for 10 days in which the remains are placed in coffins China provided and returned to China through a handing-over ceremony held at Incheon Airport at the end of this month. Eight Chinese officials visited Korea to attend this coffin rites ceremony.

The casketing procedure of Chinese remains was conducted through a phased process at the instigation of MAKRI (the Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification) and included exhuming the remains, drying and cleansing them, detailed identification, grouping the remains, relics and recording.

Chinese remains are mainly excavated from Hoengseong, Yeoncheon, Gapyeong, Cheorwon, Hongcheon, and elsewhere where the battles with Chinese were fierce, and identification experts are carefully analyzing the history of the war, remains, and relics, such as weapons, ammunition, military gear and personal items, and identifying them.

It was 425 bodies to be sent at first, but it increased to 437 after six previously-classified sets of remains were confirmed to be 18 bodies through the detailed identification.

The remains will be placed in their hometowns or where the Chinese government decides after review, considering both sides of Korea and China.

“If additional Chinese remains are excavated in the future, we will send them back to China regularly every year by applying the procedure. Both Korea and China will continue this work, maintaining close cooperation until the Chinese remains reach the mainland,” said an MND official.

This repatriation of the Chinese Army was suggested by President Park Geun-hye for the first time when she visited China last June and shared a pleasant conversation with the Deputy Prime Minister, Liu Yandong, a Tsinghua University graduate. According to this, both departments of defense formed working groups and agreed to send the remains back to China before this year's Qīngmíng Festival on April 5.

In 1996, our government created a cemetery for enemy remains scattered all over the country after the 6·25 Korean War. The cemetery, on a scale of 5204㎡, is located in in Dapgok-ri, Jeokseong-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. The creation of this cemetery is in accordance with Article 34 of Protocols Additional to the Geneva Convention which specifies a nation should show respect for enemy remains of those who died in action and manage their cemetery.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
<Copyright ⓒ The Korea Defense Daily, All rights reserved>