[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] If No Response from the North on Remains Recovery, Start with the South Side

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense plans to pursue consultations with North Korea on the joint excavation of remains in the DMZ.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reported this plan during the "2020 Ministry of National Defense Work Report" held at Gyeryongdae in Chungnam, where the command headquarters of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are gathered, presided over by President Moon Jae-in.

Last year, the South unilaterally formed a joint excavation team and excavated 261 remains around the Arrowhead Hill area. A total of 71 types and 67,476 items of personal effects belonging to soldiers who participated in the battle were also excavated. The Ministry of National Defense plans to resume excavation in the southern area from April this year if North Korea does not respond positively.

A new identification center for the remains of those who died in the Korean War will be constructed by October this year. Until now, the Ministry of National Defense's Remains Excavation and Identification Unit (Gukyudan) has stored three remains requiring identification in one box, which has been criticized as disrespectful to the deceased and their families.

The temporary remains storage facility within Gukyudan, called "Gukseonje (國宣悌)," has stored a total of 9,857 unidentified remains excavated from 2000 to the present. However, there are only 4,770 neutral pH boxes for storing remains, which is nearly half insufficient. Gukyudan's principle is to store one remain per neutral pH box. Due to lack of space, three remains have been stored per box. The neutral pH box is a special container made of neutral pH material to prevent bone acidification.

Considering that more remains will be excavated in the future, Gukyudan plans to establish the identification center by October this year. The identification center will be a three-story building above ground and one basement floor. It will include sample collection rooms and identification rooms for verifying the identity of remains.

Gukyudan expects that once the identification center is built, it will be able to store 12,000 remains there. This capacity will allow storing one remain per box, including both currently stored remains and those to be excavated in the future. Gukyudan also plans to significantly increase the remains investigation and exploration teams from the current 7 members (3 teams) to 21 members (7 teams). Additionally, the number of genetic identification personnel will be reinforced from 25 to 42.

Although the excavation work is conducted south of the Military Demarcation Line, the Ministry of National Defense explained that it is necessary to notify North Korea of the work for the safety of the personnel.

Joint South-North duty within the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA) and free movement of tourists and observers between South and North Korea are also being promoted. Since the resumption of tours in the southern area of the JSA in May last year, a total of about 24,000 domestic and foreign visitors have visited the JSA, but the northern area remains restricted. This year, a trilateral South-North-US consultative body will be activated to agree on the "JSA Joint Duty Operation Rules."

The Ministry of National Defense is also promoting the military agreement implementation related to the joint use of the Han River estuary and the South-North Military Joint Committee. It announced plans to establish conditions and procedures for free navigation of civilian vessels in the Han River estuary and improve fishing conditions for residents of the five western islands. Although the composition and operation agreement of the South-North Military Joint Committee will be finalized and regular meetings promoted, actual meetings are uncertain as North Korea's cooperation is essential.