S. Korea discovers apparent Korean War remains in DMZ

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military on Thursday discovered two pieces of bones, believed to be those of at least one soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, during demining operations at a former battle site inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the Ministry of National Defense said. On Monday, the military launched an independent excavation of war remains and mine clearance operations on Arrowhead Ridge as Pyongyang remained unresponsive to its call to jointly start the retrieval project as agreed. "(The military) has found two pieces of lower arm bones, and it plans to expand the excavation areas following the completion of the demining operations," the ministry said in a press release. "To identify the origin of the bones, we will conduct a detailed examination and DNA analysis," it added. It remains unclear whether the bone pieces are from a single person. Under last year's bilateral military accord aimed at reducing tensions and building trust, Seoul and Pyongyang had planned to carry out the joint excavation project from April through October. The communist country has appeared lukewarm about the enforcement of the military accord since the no-deal summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and its leader, Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi in late February. sshluck@yna.co.kr (END)