Korea, US launch joint monthlong project to locate Korean War remains
Korean and U.S. troops take part in a joint excavation project to search for soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War at Mount Baekseok in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, Aug. 31, 2021. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
Korea and the United States on Tuesday launched a joint project to locate the remains of American soldiers who were killed or went missing during the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's defense ministry said.
The project between the ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification and the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) will run from Tuesday through June 26 at six locations across the country, according to the ministry.
An investigation team, comprising a dozen personnel, will conduct the search in Hongcheon County in Gangwon Province and Yangpyeong County in Gyeonggi Province, where U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division suffered casualties from a Chinese offensive in 1951.
The other locations include Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province and Yeongdong County in North Chungcheong Province, where officials received tip-offs from residents who claimed to have witnessed U.S. soldiers killed or buried nearby.
The joint search will serve as a preliminary step ahead of an all-out excavation project to identify areas where war remains are believed to be buried, as the allies are to initiate a full-scale excavation, based on the results.
Last month, Korea conducted a similar search in Gangneung and Yangyang in Gangwon Province ahead of a joint underwater excavation project with the U.S. scheduled for August.