South Korea on Wednesday returned the remains of 12 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, the Ministry of National Defense said, marking the 13th such repatriation since the program began in 2014.
The handover ceremony took place in the morning at Incheon Airport, jointly presided over by Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee and Xu Yao, vice minister of China’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
China supported North Korea during the war. Seoul returned 1,011 sets of remains from 2014 through last year under international law and humanitarian principles. With this year’s transfer of 12 sets of remains, the cumulative number has reached 1,023.
The ceremony included the signing of documents confirming the transfer, a memorial event hosted by the Chinese side and the transport of the remains to a Chinese military aircraft, followed by remarks from both sides.
The remains were transported aboard a Y-20B military transport aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, which departed from an airport in central China for South Korea on Monday.
South Korea has held annual repatriation ceremonies since 2014, but skipped public events for the past two years. This year’s event marked the resumption of vice minister-level ceremonies.
The Defense Ministry said the decision reflects improving South Korea-China relations and a spirit of neighborly cooperation, adding that it will continue to return any remains recovered in the future.
This year’s transfer also drew attention for taking place earlier than in previous years, a move seen as reflecting efforts to sustain recent momentum in bilateral ties.
The two countries had initially held ceremonies around China’s Qingming Festival in early April from 2014 to 2019. From 2020 to 2022 they were held in September, ahead of the Oct. 25 anniversary marking China's participation in the Korean War.
More recently, the remains were returned in November 2024 and September 2025, making this interval of just six months notably shorter than those before.
President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in November last year, where they agreed to expand civilian and economic cooperation. The two leaders met again in January.
Earlier this month, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing visited the Defense Ministry in Seoul and expressed appreciation for Seoul’s cooperation in repatriating the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
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