More soldiers' remains to be returned from ROK

The remains of more Chinese soldiers killed in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) will be returned to China from the Republic of Korea on Thursday, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said on Sunday.

It will be the eighth batch of martyrs' remains returned since 2014, following a handover agreement signed by the two countries.

A burial ceremony will be held on Friday in the Chinese People's Volunteers martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, the ministry said. The aircraft carrying the remains is scheduled to land at a Shenyang airport on Thursday.

Ceremonies will also be held in the ROK before the remains of the fallen soldiers are returned to China.

The Chinese People's Volunteers fought alongside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Korean People's Army during the war against the ROK army and United Nations forces led by the United States.

Almost 200,000 Chinese People's Volunteers soldiers were confirmed killed in the war, with most buried on the Korean Peninsula.

In 2000, the ROK started to recover the remains of soldiers who died in the war. A special unit was established by the ROK army in 2003 to take charge of the recovery.

China and the ROK have cooperated to move the remains Chinese soldiers since 2014.

On Sept 27, the seventh such repatriation took place in Incheon, ROK, with the remains of 117 fallen soldiers then flown to Shenyang aboard a Y-20 strategic airlift aircraft.

Xinhua