South Korea Holds Ceremony for Unidentified Korean War Soldiers

Seoul – South Korea conducted a joint enshrinement ceremony on Friday for the unidentified remains of 192 soldiers who died during the 1950-53 Korean War, the defense ministry announced.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ceremony was held at the Seoul National Cemetery in southern Seoul and was presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The event was to honor and enshrine the soldiers whose remains could not be identified.

The ministry further stated that these 192 sets of remains were part of 214 sets excavated in 2023 from 35 former battle sites across the country. Of these, 22 sets have been identified and returned to their respective families. The remaining unidentified remains will be kept at the ministry’s Agency for KIA (Killed in Action) Recovery and Identification, located within the national cemetery.

Since the launch of the excavation project for Korean War remains in 2000, the ministry has unearthed approximately 11,000 sets of remains. Out of these, 226 have been successfully identified, reconnecting them with their families and giving them a place in history.