South Korean forces begin Korean War remains recovery in Paju

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense has launched an excavation project at Hill 367 in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to recover the remains of soldiers killed during the Korean War. The site was the location of intense combat in 1951, involving South Korea’s 1st Infantry Division and the US 3rd Infantry Division against Chinese forces.

The excavation, conducted by the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade and the Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification, is scheduled to continue through October 16. This effort is part of a broader nationwide recovery project for the second half of the year, with 12 divisions and three brigades deployed across 13 cities and counties in several provinces, including areas near the border.

In the first half of the year, the ministry recovered 77 sets of remains and 31,000 artifacts. To assist in identification, the ministry is collecting genetic information from bereaved families, allowing relatives within the eighth degree of kinship to provide samples.