South Korea's military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, more than a decade after their first discovery at a former battle site, the defense ministry said Friday.

The ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the 1st Marine Division recovered the remains of Ssg. Hwang Byeong-jun in the coastal county of Yeongdeok, 238 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2010 and 2017. KIA stands for killed in action.

The agency later identified the remains as his through a DNA analysis using a sample from a family member last year.

Hwang joined the military in May 1950, just before the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25. He died during a battle in Yeongdeok in August that year. He was 20.

A ceremony marking his return to his family took place at a home of his bereaved family in Daegu, 237 km southeast of Seoul, on Thursday.

South Korea has so far identified the remains of 215 service members killed in the conflict since it launched the excavation project in 2000. (Yonhap)