The U-S Defense Department and North Korea have begun joint excavations for the remains of missing U-S soldiers from the Korean War.

A 27-member team launched operations Saturday in Jangjin in South Hamgyung Province and Unsan, North Pyungan Province. The Pentagon's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command said the the excavations will continue through mid-May.

In Unsan, some three hundred American soldiers went missing during a battle between U-S and Chinese forces, while around one thousand U-S Marines were reported lost in Jangjin.

Two-hundred remains of U-S soldiers have been discovered since the two countries started the joint excavation project in 1996.