SEOUL– South Korea held a repatriation ceremony Thursday night for 68 sets of war remains right after President Moon Jae-in arrived at a military airport here following a five-day visit to the United States.
Just ahead of his departure from Hawaii, he attended a joint ceremony with the U.S. for the handover of the remains of troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea received 68 sets of remains. The caskets containing the remains of two identified soldiers — Pfc. Kim Seok-joo and Pfc. Jung Hwan-jo — were carried by Moon’s Air Force One presidential jet. The other remains, still unidentified, were airlifted by a South Korean military transport aircraft.
As they entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone, known as KADIZ, four F-15K fighter jets escorted and deployed 21 flares each to honor their return.
The repatriation ceremony at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, was attended by eight bereaved family members of Kim and Jung, as well as some senior government and defense officials
Moon traveled to New York for a keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly followed by a brief trip to Hawaii.
Source: Yonhap News Agency