S. Korea to begin exhumations of war dead in DMZ next year

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will begin exhumation next year to find the
remains of soldiers who died in the Korean War (1950-53) in the region that is
now the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the government said Sunday.
A source at the Ministry of National Defense told Yonhap News Agency that
preliminary background research that is currently underway should be completed by
the end of the year.
"Once basic checks on the possible location of remains are completed, actual work
can begin in 2010, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the
Korean conflict," the official said.
The DMZ, measuring 248 kilometers from east to west, is the de facto land border
between the two Koreas that are still technically at war after having signed only
an armistice.
South Korea's military has gained valuable experience by carrying out exhumation
in the past, as it conducted coordinated work with the U.S. Joint Prisoners of
War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) late last year in Cheorwon and
Hwacheon, the official said.
Since 2000, South Korean authorities have found the bodies of 3,288 soldiers
across the country. Of the total, 2,494 were South Korean soldiers and 631
belonged to the Communist forces. Identification work is underway for 163 unknown
sets of remains.
The defense ministry official said there may be up to 2,000 sets of remains
buried in the DMZ, which will require extensive effort to find.
He said clearing the land mines that dot the region may require consultation with
North Korea, hinting that work may be limited to the southern part of the
demarcation line for the near future. The DMZ is two kilometers wide on each side
of the border.
Seoul-Pyongyang relations have cooled since conservative President Lee Myung-bak
took power early last year.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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