Eighty-six-year-old Kim Oh-joon still remembers the day he was told the tragic news that his brother had been killed in battle during the Korean War.
He still hopes that one day the remains of his brother will be found, and he can be laid peacefully to rest.
"My very last wish before I die is to bury my fallen brother in the National Cemetery, to place a tombstone, and to offer a flower for him. I don't want anything more than that."
Some 150-thousand South Korean soldiers were killed during the three-year conflict, but 130-thousand are still missing.
Their remains unaccounted for. It's estimated about 70 percent, or the remains of some 95-thousand South Korean troops are somewhere in South Korea, and the rest are in North Korea.
Since the 2000s, the South Korean government has operated a team to identify remains buried in fields and mountains nationwide.
So far, they have excavated about 8-thousand bodies - 7-thousand South Korean soldiers and around 1-thousand North Korean and Chinese soldiers.
Sadly for the families, only about 80 soldiers have been identified through DNA testing.
The Defense Ministry says it will continue its active excavation projects, in the hope of giving some peace of mind to the families of those who bravely laid down their lives for South Korea.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=148564
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