Remains of 43 Chinese martyrs in Korean War returned to homeland from ROK

SHENYANG -- The remains of 43 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) soldiers who died during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK).

At 12:07 pm, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft, carrying the remains of the fallen soldiers and 495 of their personal effects, landed at Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province.

The plane's touch down was met with a water cannon salute, as soldiers carried the caskets off the plane before a remembrance ceremony was held at the airport.

Nearly 1,000 people, including representatives from central and local authorities, the military, war veterans, and relatives of CPV martyrs, attended the ceremony.

Following the placement of the caskets, which were covered with the Five-star Red Flag, the participants bowed three times in dignified silence to the soldiers' remains.

The remains will be laid to rest in a martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang.

After the ROK handed over the martyrs' remains and belongings to the Chinese side in Incheon on Thursday morning, China held a memorial ceremony at Incheon International Airport. During the ceremony, the Chinese national anthem was played, and each casket was draped with the national flag. Attendees bowed three times to the martyrs before their remains were placed onto the plane.

From 2014 to 2023, China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully completed 10 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 938 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related artifacts.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Chinese ground forces under the CPV entered the Korean Peninsula on Oct 19, 1950. A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers joined the war that lasted almost three years, with more than 360,000 killed or injured.