The remains of a man believed to be a former South Korean prisoner of war captured by the North during the Korean War are being repatriated to his homeland Friday.

According to a civic group working for North Korean escapees in Seoul, a daughter of the deceased Paek Jong-kyu will arrive in Seoul from China with her father's remains later in the day.

The Defense Ministry plans to conduct DNA testing on the remains for positive identification. If the remains are confirmed to be those of Paek, it would be the first time for the remains of a South Korean POW to be repatriated from the North. Should that prove to be the case, the ministry plans to bury him at the National Cemetery with full military honors.

Paek's daughter escaped to China from North Korea in 2002 with the remains of her father, who died in the North in 1997. She was quoted as saying that her father had requested in his will that he be buried in his homeland in South Korea.