Seoul, Sep 12 South Korea on Friday repatriated the remains of 30 Chinese troops who were killed while fighting alongside North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War to their home country, the defence ministry said.
The remains, along with 267 pieces of their belongings, were handed over to China's veteran affairs officials at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, according to the ministry.
Since 2014, South Korea has returned a total of 1,011 sets of remains belonging to Chinese troops, including the latest ones, after they were discovered during the ministry's project to excavate the remains of fallen South Korean troops of the conflict.
This year, the ministry skipped a ceremony commemorating the repatriation of the remains of Chinese soldiers for the second consecutive year, given that China fought alongside North Korea during the Korean War against South Korea and UN troops.
The move also came as China is believed to have highlighted the remains repatriation as "heroes' return" for a propaganda purpose, Yonhap news agency reported.
"We expect the repatriation will contribute to strengthen friendly cooperative relations between South Korea and China," the defence ministry said.
This was not the first time. In 2022, South Korea had repatriated the remains of 88 Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War.
Wooden caskets containing the remains of the Chinese soldiers were handed over to a Chinese military honour guard during a solemn ceremony at Incheon International Airport near Seoul.
Similarly, in 2020, the remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950–53 Korean War were sent back.
In 2014, Seoul pledged to repatriate the remains of fallen Chinese soldiers in a symbolic gesture of friendship, and 599 sets were subsequently returned, including 10 last year.
A total of 825 remains of Chinese soldiers were repatriated between 2014 and 2021.
The Korean War started on 25 June 1950 and ended on 27 July 1953, after the signing of an armistice that agreed the country would remain divided.
At the end of the Second World War, Korea, which had formerly been occupied by the Japanese, was divided along the 38th parallel. This was an internal border between North and South Korea based on a circle of latitude.
North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, invaded the South on 25 June 1950, which was supported by the United States.
The three-year war was exceptionally bloody and led to the deaths of 3 million people and tens of thousands of casualties.
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