109 remains of Chinese soldiers killed in Korean War casketed in S. Korea

Remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War are casketed in Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 1, 2021. The remains of 109 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were casketed in South Korea on Wednesday to be sent back to China. The ceremony to lay the 109 remains in coffins was held in Incheon, west of the capital Seoul. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

INCHEON, South Korea, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 109 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were casketed in South Korea on Wednesday to be sent back to their homeland, the South Korean defense ministry said.

The ceremony to lay the 109 remains in coffins was held in Incheon, west of the capital Seoul.

The 109 remains and 1,226 related relics were excavated from six regions in South Korea between 2019 and 2020, according to the defense ministry.

In 2014, South Korea agreed with China to repatriate the remains of fallen Chinese soldiers according to international law and humanitarian spirit, the ministry said.

From 2014 to 2020, South Korea had returned the remains of 716 Chinese People's Volunteers martyrs killed in the Korean War, including 437 in 2014, 68 in 2015, 36 in 2016, 28 in 2017, 20 in 2018, 10 in 2019 and 117 in 2020.

This year's repatriation ceremony, the eighth of its kind, is scheduled to be held at the Incheon International Airport on Thursday.

The Chinese People's Volunteers fought alongside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) army in the Korean War against the South Korean army and the U.S.-led UN forces between 1950 and 1953.