South Korea has returned the remains of 25 Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War to their homeland.

According to Seoul’s defense ministry, 25 sets of remains of Chinese soldiers discovered in South Korea in 2021 were handed over to China in a ceremony at Incheon International Airport on Thursday morning. 

In the ceremony, vice defense minister Kim Seon-ho said that the repatriation, which is the tenth this year, is the result of cooperation between the governments of South Korea and China based on the spirit of humanitarianism and mutual respect, expressing hope that it will continue to contribute to bilateral relations. 

The Chinese state media outlets actively covered the repatriation, broadcasting it live on the Internet. The remains were reportedly transported by a Chinese military transport plane to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in northeast China. 

Since the two countries agreed on the repatriation program in 2014, Seoul has so far returned 938 sets of remains of Chinese soldiers who fought on the opposing side in support of North Korea during the War from 1950 to 1953.