4 soldiers killed in DMZ during Korean War identified
Remains of a soldier and his items have been excavated at Arrowhead Ridge, a site of fierce battles in the 1950-53 Korean War which is now inside the Demilitarized Zone, in the central section of the inter-Korean border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. The defense ministry said Monday four soldiers killed in a battle there have recently been identified. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
By Jung Da-min
Four soldiers killed in a fierce battle during the 1950-53 Korean War have been identified from their remains found inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the defense ministry, Monday.
A sergeant first class, a staff sergeant and two sergeants are believed to have died in the fourth battle that took place on Arrowhead Ridge, now inside the DMZ, about two weeks before a truce ending the Korean War was signed July 27, 1953.
A National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) taskforce conducted excavation work on the ridge, a central section of the inter-Korean border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, between April and November last year. The team identified another three soldiers last year.
“Numerous items were found with the remains of the four soldiers, such as water bottles, ammunition, identification tags, insignias, certificates, bayonets, combat shoes and helmets,” the team said in a press release. “The four soldiers participated in the Korean War at the age of twenty. Among them, three were married and each had a child left behind with their wives.”
The team said the identification of the dead soldiers was possible thanks to genetic sampling conducted on around 40,000 bereaved family members. But it said it still needs to collect more samples.
Through the excavation conducted last year, the team found about 2,000 bones believed to be from over 260 soldiers as well as 67,000 war items in the DMZ area. It is estimated that there the remains of over 10,000 war dead are in the area.