The Ministry of National Defense announced that on the morning of the 15th, a joint enshrinement ceremony for 141 remains of Korean War soldiers discovered this year was held at the Seoul National Cemetery, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. The ceremony was attended by key figures including the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency, as well as soldiers who directly participated in the excavation of the remains.
The joint enshrinement ceremony is a temporary enshrinement event for remains whose identities have not yet been confirmed until their families are found. Of the 141 remains discovered this year, none have been identified yet. The Korean War remains excavation project began in 2000 and has recovered over 11,000 remains of Korean soldiers to date, with 268 of them identified and returned to their families.
In 2020, the Ministry of National Defense expanded and reorganized the remains excavation and identification team, and in 2021, opened an identification center dedicated to all processes of identification, including storage, analysis, and DNA testing, to improve efficiency. This year’s excavation took place from March to the end of November in 34 areas, including Cheorwon and Inje in Gangwon Province, Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province, and Chilgok and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province.
After the joint enshrinement ceremony, the 141 unidentified remains will be stored in the remains storage facility within the Ministry of National Defense’s excavation and identification team, and will undergo DNA analysis and other identification procedures to be returned to their families. The Ministry of National Defense plans to strengthen public campaigns to encourage more families to participate in DNA sampling and to solidify the civil-military cooperation system.