The South Korean military has recovered the remains of 25 soldiers believed killed during the 1950-53 Korean War from a former battlefield in the Demilitarized Zone. This is the first such excavation in three years at White Horse Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, as part of measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas. The 40-day search, involving South Korean and U.S.-led U.N. Command troops, also yielded 1,962 pieces of belongings.
The South Korean defense ministry announced in October plans to resume war remains excavation at White Horse Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, as part of measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas. The project had been halted since 2022. A 40-day search from October 15 to November 28, involving troops from South Korea and member states of the U.S.-led U.N. Command, recovered the remains of 25 bodies and 1,962 pieces of belongings.
On-site identification indicated that a majority of the bodies are those of South Korean soldiers killed during the three-year conflict, the ministry said, adding it plans more detailed tests involving DNA analysis. "This is part of efforts to return to the families... those who fought in the Korean War, as well as a practical measure to implement the government's pledge to establish peace in the DMZ," it added.
Under a now-suspended military tension reduction accord signed in 2018, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to launch a joint project to retrieve remains of soldiers killed during the Korean War from former battlefields inside the DMZ. South Korea began work in 2019 at Arrowhead Ridge and later expanded to White Horse Ridge, but suspended it in November 2022 due to safety concerns from deteriorating inter-Korean ties. The two sites were among the fiercest battlefields of the war, reporting the most casualties. Through these excavations, the military has retrieved remains of some 500 soldiers.
The North has not responded to calls for joint work.