thedrifter
04-28-09, 08:25 AM
04-28-2009 17:54
Remains of Marines in Korean War Recovered
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The military has excavated the remains of 79 soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War in recent operations in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.
The recovered remains include those of four fallen marines, the war remains recovery and identification team affiliated with the ministry said in a news release. The team also recovered a total of 827 belongings of fallen soldiers during the operation.
This is the first time remains of Marines have been excavated since recovery work began in 2000, it said.
In the Pohang area, South Korea's 3rd Infantry Division and North Korea's 5th Infantry Division were engaged in a month-long bloody battle between August and September, 1950, according to the release.
Since 2000, the remains of 2,855 soldiers killed in the fratricidal war have been recovered, according to the ministry.
Earlier this year, the team opened its new headquarters at the National Cemetery in Seoul with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for identifying war remains such as a digital X-ray imager, 3D scanner and DNA sampling instruments.
Remains of about 130,000 South Korean solders are believed to still be buried on the Korean Peninsula, while 8,100 U.S. military personnel are still missing from the war.
The Korean War, often called the ``Forgotten War,'' resulted in a devastating death toll. According to the ministry, some 137,000 South Korean troops lost their lives, with a further 20,000 listed as missing in action.
Foreign records show that at least 400,000 South Korean troops and two million civilians were killed, alongside up to 1.5 million troops from communist North Korea and China.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
Ellie
Remains of Marines in Korean War Recovered
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The military has excavated the remains of 79 soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War in recent operations in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.
The recovered remains include those of four fallen marines, the war remains recovery and identification team affiliated with the ministry said in a news release. The team also recovered a total of 827 belongings of fallen soldiers during the operation.
This is the first time remains of Marines have been excavated since recovery work began in 2000, it said.
In the Pohang area, South Korea's 3rd Infantry Division and North Korea's 5th Infantry Division were engaged in a month-long bloody battle between August and September, 1950, according to the release.
Since 2000, the remains of 2,855 soldiers killed in the fratricidal war have been recovered, according to the ministry.
Earlier this year, the team opened its new headquarters at the National Cemetery in Seoul with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for identifying war remains such as a digital X-ray imager, 3D scanner and DNA sampling instruments.
Remains of about 130,000 South Korean solders are believed to still be buried on the Korean Peninsula, while 8,100 U.S. military personnel are still missing from the war.
The Korean War, often called the ``Forgotten War,'' resulted in a devastating death toll. According to the ministry, some 137,000 South Korean troops lost their lives, with a further 20,000 listed as missing in action.
Foreign records show that at least 400,000 South Korean troops and two million civilians were killed, alongside up to 1.5 million troops from communist North Korea and China.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
Ellie