A file photo of honor guards escorting the coffins containing the remains of Chinese People's Volunteers martyrs from an aircraft to the designated placement area at Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, Shenyang City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, November 23, 2023. /Xinhua
The remains of 43 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs who lost their lives during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea will be returned to China from the Republic of Korea (ROK) on November 28, according to China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
The ministry has said a Chinese delegation, a team of the Guard of Honor of People's Liberation Army, and a transport aircraft departed for the ROK to carry out the handover mission.
According to the official announcement, a ceremony will be held at a temporary storage facility in Incheon on the morning of November 28 to seal the coffins and finalize the transfer documents for the martyrs' remains.
The Chinese delegation and the Chinese Embassy in the ROK will conduct a memorial service at Incheon International Airport. The remains will then be transported to China by aircraft, where a formal welcome ceremony is scheduled at Shenyang Taoxian Airport. A solemn burial ceremony will be held at a cemetery in Shenyang on the morning of November 29.
Two fighter jets escorted a transport aircraft carrying the remains of CPV martyrs back to China, November 23, 2023. /Xinhua
This marks the 11th repatriation of CPV martyrs' remains since the signing of a handover agreement between the two countries.
China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, completed 10 consecutive handovers between 2014 and 2023, involving the remains of 938 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related artifacts.
Both sides have agreed to continue their cooperation in these efforts.
Almost 200,000 CPV soldiers were confirmed killed in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, with most interred on the Korean Peninsula.
Additionally, since 2019, the Veterans Affairs Ministry has launched an initiative to help locate the families of martyrs. By the end of 2023, the families of 10 martyrs have been found.
Martyr Zhan Zhizhong, one of the seventh batch of CPV martyrs repatriated from the ROK in 2020, was reunited with his family in 2021 through DNA matching, which identified his son, Zhan Chaoming.
"I am so fortunate. After decades of longing for my father, I've finally found him," said the 80-year-old son, with tears streaming down his face. "The nation hasn't forgotten, the people haven't forgotten. I hope more martyrs can be reunited with their families."