Remains of 270 Korean War KIA to be enshrined

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- The government has found the remains of 270 South
Korean soldiers killed in action (KIA) during the Korean War in the latter half
of the year, bringing the total to over 2,200, the defense ministry said
Wednesday.

Most of the remains will be enshrined this week at Seoul's National Cemetery
while those of 13 whose identities have been confirmed will be buried separately
at national cemeteries here or in the southern city of Daejeon, according to the
ministry.
A ceremony will be held at the Seoul National Memorial Friday, attended by Prime
Minister Han Seung-soo, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee and some 350 other ranking
members of the government and the military, the ministry said.
"This brings to 2,233 the total number of Korean War KIAs discovered since the
ministry launched the excavation program in 2000, while the number of KIAs
identified and laid at national cemeteries come to 44," the ministry said in a
press release.
Seoul has long tried to find the remain of those who fell during the 1950-53
Korean War, but its first and only office, the KIA Recovery and Identification
Agency, specifically tasked with the project was established belatedly in 2000.
During its eight-year search for South Korean and U.N. troops killed during the
war, the agency has also found the remains of 614 North Korean and Chinese
soldiers. They are temporarily buried at a graveyard, known as the enemy
cemetery, located near the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas.
Pyongyang refuses to take back the remains of its troops, apparently out of fear
that Seoul may ask it to reciprocate the gesture by also sending back South
Korean prisoners of war believed to be still held in the North.
China, one of the closest allies of the communist North, also refuses to take
back its fallen soldiers, saying they were only volunteer forces, not regular
members of its military.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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