Forgotten solider returns in 56 years as remains
By Lee Chi-dong HONGCHEON, Kangwon Province, June 15 (Yonhap) -- A skull and several pieces of bone believed to be those of a solider killed during the 1950-53 Korean War were carefully unveiled here in an uncharacteristically calm atmosphere.
After weeks of digging and sifting this remote mountain in Hongcheon, some 100 km east of Seoul, on the recommendation of a local resident, the Defense Ministry's task force on searching war remains found them earlier this week.
The remains are believed to be those of Army Pfc. Min Tae-shik, who was killed in battle in April 1951, according to the team's preliminary research.
"This canteen found along with the remains was a decisive clue," Lt. Col. Lee Yong-seok, vice chief of the Agency for MIA Recovery and Identification (AMRI) told an army of reporters and photographers, showing a rusty canteen with stone-carved numbers "0167621." "We scanned military personnel records to find a match with the serial number, and it was found to have been that of Pfc. Min," he said. "It is almost certain that the remains are those of the soldier who was 22 years old at that time, given other physical evidence." He emphasized that it is quite unusual for his team to identify war remains through a serial number on a canteen.
But four relatives of Min invited to the scene on the behalf of his parents and only brother who died a long time ago were calm and cautious. None cried, disappointing photographers.
"I still have a vivid memory of him. We grew up in Gunpo together. I was told that he went missing during the war," said Min Tae-geung, a cousin of the fallen solider.
The 71-year-old, who still resides in the city just south of Seoul, was accompanied by a sister-in-law, a nephew, and another cousin of Pfc. Min.
"Frankly speaking, however, I scarcely thought of him or heard about him since the war," he said. "The most important thing for now is to confirm whether these remains are those of my cousin." As the members of the AMRI slowly descended the mountain with a Korean flag-draped casket carrying the remains after a brief, solemn ceremony, the relatives headed to a nearly military hospital to get their DNA samples extracted.
The AMRI said DNA test will take a few months.
If confirmed, the remains will be the latest identified by the agency born early this year under the motto of "Unlimited Responsibility," referring to the duty of the living toward those who sacrificed for the country. The AMRI is modeled after the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.
South Korea began its full-fledged efforts in 2000 to retrieve and identify remains from the Korean War, which claimed the lives of nearly 180,000 South Korean and United Nations soldiers. Nearly 1,800 sets of remains here have been recovered so far, but only 53 of them identified.
Identification is an arduous process because a long time has passed since the war.
The Defense Ministry believes the remains of as many as 130,000 soldiers have yet to be recovered, 20 percent of which are estimated to be buried in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas.
© Yonhap News Agency