South Korea’s military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, nearly two decades after their discovery at a former battle site, the defense ministry said Friday.
The ministry’s Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification recovered the remains of Pfc. Park Dong-geun in Pohang, 262 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2005. KIA stands for killed in action.
The agency identified the remains as his through a DNA analysis using a sample from a family member last year, following a long search for Park’s surviving family based on military records.
During the war, Park took part in a battle to defend the coastal city in August 1950 but was killed that month at the age of 20, according to the ministry.
A ceremony marking his return took place at a home of his bereaved family in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on Thursday.
South Korea has so far identified the remains of 216 service members killed in the conflict since it launched the excavation project in 2000.
Source: Yonhap News Agency