Soldiers excavate the remains of those who lost their lives during the 1950-53 Korean War, in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province on May 31. Newsis
The defense ministry's war remains excavation agency will launch a month-long project on Sunday to search for the families of those who were killed during the 1950-53 Korean War but whose remains have yet to be identified, the agency said Wednesday.
The ministry's Agency for Killed in Action Recovery & Identification said the project is set to take place across 25 districts in Seoul throughout next month.
The primary objective of this project is to categorize the fallen soldiers according to their places of origin and addresses, and share the list with relevant local authorities to reach out to their families and identify their remains.
The agency said it needs to reach out to approximately 6,200 family members in the nation's capital.
Families of the fallen soldiers will have the opportunity to participate in the identity confirmation process by providing their DNA samples. In cases where a positive identification is made using the provided genetic information, 10 million won ($7,400) will be provided to the confirming family.
“As war veterans and bereaved families are aging, the task of locating descendants of fallen soldiers becomes increasingly challenging,” Lee Keun-won, the head of the agency said. “We are fighting against time, which makes civil-military cooperation more crucial than ever before.”
Commencing in 2021 in South and North Gyeongsang provinces, the project has contributed to collecting DNA samples from 30,000 bereaved families and identifying the remains of 4,400 fallen soldiers.
![[ANALYSIS] Why is N. Korea not allowed to launch spy satellites?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/cc538720ced042fab4c58f91064a6b5c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[GOING ELECTRIC] The complex decision to buy an electric scooter in Korea](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/d8d6ba5551db4b03a4b66028de81485e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Female leadership not just diversity issue, but survival necessity](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/26c5f284684f400b9bd1ca87f286dc7c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
