Remains of Chinese war dead to return
Print Edition
South Korea will repatriate the remains of more than 400 Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War some 60 years ago, military officials said yesterday.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered to return the bodies as a goodwill gesture during her visit to Beijing in June.
The South Korean defense ministry said it would send back the remains of 425 Chinese soldiers buried in a military-controlled cemetery in Paju just south of the border with North Korea.
“Work began today to excavate the remains under an agreement reached between the two countries in early December,” a ministry spokesman said.
“Together with the remains of Chinese soldiers, their relics that have been unearthed and kept by our ministry will be returned.”
The excavation will take several months, he said, adding that South Korea would take charge of all preparations such as washing the remains and placing them in coffins.
The ministry described the agreement as “a new milestone” for relations between the two countries.
China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 conflict. About 180,000 Chinese People’s Volunteers, as they were called at home, were killed in the war.
More than 700 North Korean soldiers are also interred at the cemetery. But North Korea has ignored an offer to return the bodies despite sporadic talks on the issue.
The cemetery was established in 1996 as the final resting place for North Korean and Chinese soldiers previously buried in small plots around South Korea.
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