Korea, Japan launch joint DNA identification for 1942 Chosei coal mine victims

Korea and Japan have launched a joint DNA identification effort for victims of the 1942 Chosei coal mine flood disaster, in which 136 Korean laborers and 47 Japanese workers were killed during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.

The head of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police, Taishi Akimoto, announced Thursday at a prefectural assembly session that DNA analysis had begun on remains recovered from the Chosei coal mine in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Akimoto said bone samples had already been handed over to Korean government officials on June 17.

"Both governments will each conduct independent DNA analysis and then share the results," Akimoto said, outlining the timeline. The Japanese side's analysis will be handled directly by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police, which has been storing the recovered remains.

The Chosei mine was a submarine coal mine dug beneath the seabed. A massive flooding accident in 1942, during the Pacific War, trapped and killed all 183 workers inside. 

The victims' remains had long lain undiscovered until a Japanese civic group took up the cause. Underwater diving surveys led by the group recovered four sets of human bones in August last year, with one additional set found in February.

The joint analysis stems from an agreement reached at a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Nara Prefecture in January, during which the two leaders agreed on humanitarian grounds to conduct joint DNA identification of the remains. Diplomatic working-level consultations have continued closely since then.

Both governments have already secured DNA samples from more than 80 bereaved family members.

BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]