Korea, US begin 6-week war remains search in Mungyeong

Korean military members a conduct recovery operation for the remains of fallen soldiers of the 1950-53 Korean War in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 11, 2023. Yonhap

Korea and the United States on Wednesday began a six-week project to search for the remains and belongings of soldiers killed 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) kicked off in Mungyeong, about 140 kilometers east of Seoul, where a U.S. F-51D fighter jet crashed during the war.

Officials will focus this year's project on recovering components of the fighter jet to help with identification efforts for the aircraft's pilot. They conducted a similar search in the area last year but failed to recover parts with the jet's unique serial number.

The two sides have regularly teamed up for joint excavation projects for missing American soldiers of the Korean War.

More than 1.7 million U.S. troops served during the conflict, with more than 36,000 killed. Nearly 7,500 Americans still remain unaccounted for from the three-year war, according to the DPAA.