Remains of 43 Chinese martyrs in Korean War returned to homeland from ROK

A military aircraft carrying the remains of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs is honored with a water salute after landing at the Taoxian international airport in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Nov. 28, 2024. The remains of 43 CPV soldiers who lost their lives during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK). [Photo by Li Gang/Xinhua]

SHENYANG, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 43 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) soldiers who died during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK).

A Y-20 transport aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force carrying the remains and 495 items of personal belongings of the fallen soldiers landed in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, at noon.

The remains will be laid to rest in a martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang.

After the ROK handed over the martyrs' remains and belongs to the Chinese side in Incheon on Thursday morning, China held a memorial ceremony at Incheon International Airport. During the ceremony, the Chinese national anthem was played, and each casket was draped with the national flag. Attendees bowed three times to the martyrs before their remains were placed onto the plane.

From 2014 to 2023, China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully completed 10 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 938 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related artifacts.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Chinese ground forces under the CPV entered the Korean Peninsula on Oct. 19, 1950. A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers joined the war that lasted almost three years, with more than 360,000 killed or injured.

A Y-20 transport aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force carrying the remains of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs, escorted by two J-20 stealth fighter jets, is pictured over the Taoxian international airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Nov. 28, 2024. The remains of 43 CPV soldiers who lost their lives during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK). [Photo by Li Gang/Xinhua]