South Korea's military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, about 13 years after their discovery in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The ministry's excavation team confirmed the remains belonged to Staff Sgt. Jeon Bok-hui, after it conducted DNA analysis using a sample from his younger brother. Border troops retrieved the remains in Cheorwon, 71 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in October 2010.
Jeon died in a fierce battle in Cheorwon in June 1951, just months after joining the military, according to the ministry. In 1954, he was posthumously awarded the Hwarang Order of Military Merit, a primary military decoration, for his service during the war.
A ceremony marking his return was set to take place in a home of his bereaved family in Seoul on Thursday.
South Korea has so far identified the remains of 209 service members killed in the conflict since it launched the excavation project in 2000.
Source: Yonhap News Agency