북녘땅 전사자 239명 귀환…"25년의 대화 노력 있었다"
1-hundred-and-47 white coffins individually wrapped in South Korean flags returned home to a solemn memorial seven decades too late.
The remains of South Korean soldiers killed in the Korean War flown from Hawaii, where they were previously sent by the North following their discovery over the past three decades.
Our Kim Mok-yeon explains the 25 years of Seoul, Washington, Pyeongyang combined efforts that made this possible.
One-hundred-47 sets of soldier remains, surrounded by the South Korean national flag, disembark a Korean Air Force plane.
It took seventy long years for them to return to their motherland.
"I have been called to return to my homeland. Salute "
At the Korean War's 70th anniversary memorial event, President Moon Jae-in pledged to honor the noble sacrifices of those who marched into battle to protect and defend the nation.
The Blue House briefed reporters Friday on the 25 year-long history of combined efforts between Seoul, Washington and Pyeongyang which enabled Thursday's return.
From 1990 to 1994, North Korea sent two-hundred-eight sets of remains excavated from its territory to the U.S. Department of Defense.
This led to Pyeongyang and Washington agreeing on the significance of finding the remains of fallen heroes and embarked on joint excavation projects...the 'Joint Recovery Operation', in 1996 and the 'Korea War Project' in 2010.
The following year, South Korea joined the U.S. in identifying remains, confirming that at least 12 of them were Korean veterans before bringing them home in 2012.
80 more have been returned since then, and in 2018, following the first Pyeongyang-Washington summit in Singapore, North Korea sent 55 more sets of remains to the U.S.
Seoul and Washington held a series of forensic tests and were able to bring one-hundred-47 back to South Korea for Thursday's anniversary event.
Of them, identities of seven veterans have been confirmed, and sent back to their families.
"I received a call from the Defense Ministry, telling me they've found my family."
"I am still in shock."
"I am very happy."
"I really cannot believe this.
A Blue House official highlighted that as of Thursday, all remains excavated by North Korea have been successfully handed over.
However, the official said that out of the total 10-thousand-five-hundred excavated remains being stored at Seoul National Cemetery, only one-hundred-49 identities have been confirmed, due to the lack of DNA samples from relatives.
The Presidential office asked for public cooperation in DNA testing to speed up identification, and vowed continued efforts to excavate and bring every last veteran one home to their families.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang news
