S. Korea identifies remains of another Korean War soldier

SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War following their excavation in North Korea decades ago, the defense ministry said Friday.

The ministry's excavation team recently confirmed the remains of Pfc. Park Jin-ho. They were among those the North handed over to the United States from 1990-94. His remains returned here in 2020, as they were thought to be of a South Korean troop.

Park served at the 31st Regiment of the U.S. 7th Division under the Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army (KATUSA) program. He died in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in late 1950, according to the ministry.

Park was born in a town that is currently part of Seoul in 1928. As he was mobilized for work in Japan during the colonial period, he spoke Japanese and English, and joined the KATUSA program, according to the ministry.

Seoul has identified the remains of 193 South Korean soldiers killed in the conflict since it launched the excavation project in 2000.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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