Commencement of Remains Excavation at Baengmagoji

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The excavation of war dead remains at Baengmagoji in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province, is set to begin. Baengmagoji is known as one of the fiercest battlefields of the Korean War, where many soldiers lost their lives.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it would hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the excavation under the leadership of Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin at Baengmagoji in the morning and officially start the excavation work.

Baengmagoji was the site of a battle fought by the Republic of Korea Army's 9th Division from October 6 to 15, 1952, during which about 960 soldiers were killed or went missing. The battlefield also involved troops from the United States, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and the Ministry of National Defense believes that the remains of United Nations forces can also be recovered. In particular, considering the case of the nearby Hwaseolmari Hill, more war dead remains have been excavated in the DMZ than in rear areas, and many remains have been found in complete form, so it is expected that many remains will be recovered at Baengmagoji as well.

Under the September 19 Military Agreement, South and North Korea agreed to conduct joint excavation work around Hwaseolmari Hill, but due to a lull in inter-Korean relations, the North did not respond, and the South proceeded with the work unilaterally.

From April 2019 to June of this year, excavation work conducted in the southern area of Hwaseolmari Hill within the DMZ uncovered 3,092 items (including 424 provisional remains) and 101,816 relics.

In his memorial speech on the day, Chief of Staff Nam said, "Baengmagoji is where our predecessors risked their lives to defend until the very last moment during the Korean War," adding, "We will do our utmost to find every last hero who is buried somewhere."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.