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Seoul to resume recovery of Korean War KIA in DMZ

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 20:36

The Baekma Hill seen along with the Cheorwon plain, Gangwon [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Ministry of National Defense will resume excavation work in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to recover the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, starting next month. It will be the first such operation in three years since November 2022 and is seen as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s efforts to ease inter-Korean tensions.

According to the ministry, the military will begin excavation in the Baekma Hill area of the DMZ, adjacent to the Army’s 9th Infantry Division under I Corps. To prepare, engineering units are being mobilized for mine clearance, and frontline divisions are recruiting personnel to participate in the recovery work.

“We are reviewing various measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas,” a Defense Ministry official said Tuesday.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to conduct joint recovery efforts for fallen soldiers as part of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military accord in 2018. But after the collapse of the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi in 2019, the North refused to participate, leaving the South to carry out the work alone. The military conducted operations around the Hwasalmeori Hill and Baekma Hill until 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The Battle of Baekma Hill is remembered as one of the fiercest clashes of the Korean War. At Hill 395, northwest of Cheorwon-eup in Cheorwon County, Gangwon, one South Korean infantry division — the 9th Division — fought against three Chinese divisions. After 24 rounds of back-and-forth fighting, South Korean forces secured the hill.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG [[email protected]]