S. Korea discovers more apparent Korean War remains in DMZ

SEOUL, May 1 (Yonhap) -- Eight more bone pieces, believed to be from soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, have been discovered inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea, the defense ministry said Friday.

The bone pieces were found over the past week during an excavation and demining operation under way on Arrowhead Ridge, a former battle site inside the DMZ that separates the two Koreas, according to the ministry.

South Korea resumed the excavation project on April 20 and has since found a total of 12 pieces of bones and 1,667 articles believed to have been left by the deceased service members, it added.

It remains unclear how many people the bone pieces belong to, and the authorities will carry out a detailed examination and DNA analysis to identify their origins, the ministry said.

On Monday, the ministry held a memorial ceremony at the excavation scene for victims before carrying the bone pieces to a nearby temporary enshrinement facility.

"We will do our best to find and bring back the last remaining victims to their loved ones," the ministry said, vowing to continue to encourage North Korea to respond to the joint excavation project.

Under a bilateral military accord signed on Sept. 19, 2018, the two Koreas agreed to launch a joint excavation project on Arrowhead Ridge. But the South has carried out the project alone since last year, as the North did not respond to calls for joint work.

During the eight-month project last year, the military found around 2,030 bone pieces believed to have belonged to about 261 troops killed in the war. Of them, 117 sets of remains are believed to be of Koreans, with 143 others presumed to belong to Chinese troops and another set to U.N. forces, according to the ministry.

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