The Excavation of Remains of the Fallen Soldiers from the Korean War Begins This Year... Investigation of the Location of U.S. Remains Also Underway

Aiming to Recover Over 220 Fallen Soldiers' Remains
in 34 Locations Across the Country

The Ministry of National Defense's Remains Recovery and Identification Unit announced on the 17th that it will conduct the "Korean War Fallen Soldiers' Remains Recovery" operation until November 28.

This year's remains recovery operation will deploy 30 divisions and brigades to 34 locations, including major battle sites during the Korean War such as Yanggu-gun in Gangwon-do and Chilgok-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do, aiming to recover the remains of more than 220 fallen soldiers.

The unit aims to secure more than 12,000 family members' genetic (DNA) samples and identify the remains of at least 25 Republic of Korea Armed Forces fallen soldiers through comparative analysis between genetic samples collected from the recovered remains and those from family members.

To this end, this year, focused family member searches will be conducted through civil-government-military cooperation in Gyeonggi/Incheon and Jeju (June), and Gangwon/Chungcheong (November). Additionally, inquiry activities and sample collection will be concentrated in major remains recovery areas such as Donghae-si and Inje-gun in Gangwon-do.

Furthermore, to address family members' concerns, two explanatory sessions on the remains recovery project will be held in 2025 (May in Daegu, November in Ulsan). To improve the collection rate of essential family genetic samples for identification, a public awareness campaign will be promoted through civil-government-military cooperation.

International cooperation related to remains recovery will also be expanded.

By April 18, the unit will investigate the locations of U.S. military fallen and missing personnel remains in eight areas within Pyeongtaek-si and Yeoncheon-gun in Gyeonggi-do, Chuncheon-si, Pyeongchang-gun, and Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon-do, and Hongseong-gun in Chungcheongnam-do, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

In November, a "United Nations Forces Unknown Soldier Interment Ceremony" will be held to inter presumed United Nations Forces remains at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. This will serve as an opportunity to remember the noble sacrifice and contributions of the United Nations Forces and to commemorate them together with the public.

Lee Geun-won, head of the Remains Recovery and Identification Unit, stated, "We will do our utmost to bring the national heroes who dedicated themselves to the country back to their families."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.