South Korea will return the remains of 25 Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War to their homeland next week.

According to the defense ministry on Friday, events for the handover of the remains will begin at Incheon International Airport next Wednesday with both sides jointly placing the remains in coffins before they are handed over to China on Thursday along with keepsakes.

Since the two countries agreed on the repatriation program in 2014, Seoul has returned 913 sets of remains of Chinese soldiers who fought on the opposing side in support of North Korea during the War from 1950 to 1953.

The return is considered a symbol of bilateral exchanges as it continued even in 2016 when the Seoul-Beijing ties were at their worst due to conflict over South Korea’s hosting of a U.S. missile defense system and the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. 

The defense ministry said it will continue to repatriate the remains of Chinese troops excavated in South Korea as part of humanitarian efforts and friendly cooperation between the neighboring nations.