South Korea sends back remains of Chinese Korean War dead
The repatriation of the remains comes ahead of the annual Chinese tomb-sweeping festival
South Korea on Thursday sent the remains of dozens of Chinese soldiers killed during 1950-53 Korean War back to China for a final burial in their homeland.
Coffins carrying the remains of 36 soldiers - excavated by South Korea’s Defence Ministry from March to November last year - were flown from Incheon airport to the northeastern city of Shenyang, where China has a state cemetery for its war dead.
In a separate ceremony on Monday, the remains, including bone fragments and skulls, had been placed in the coffins at a temporary mortuary in Paju, near the border with North Korea.
In 2013, South Korean President Park Geun-hye had offered to return the bodies of the Chinese war dead as a goodwill gesture during a visit to Beijing.
Since then, Seoul has repatriated a total of 505 sets of remains, flying them back every year ahead of the annual Chinese Qingming, or tomb-sweeping, festival when many people visit and clean the graves of their ancestors.
This year’s festival falls on April 4.