A ceremony is held to hand over the remains of 36 Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War to China at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, March 31, 2016. This is the third time that South Korea has returned the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War, more than 60 years after an armistice ended the fighting. (Photo: China News Service/Wu Xu)
The remains of 36 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK), the third batch returned following a handover agreement signed by the two countries in 2013.
Escorted by two Chinese J-11 fighter jets, an Il-76 transportation plane carrying coffins of the soldiers landed at Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, around 11:30 a.m..
The remains will be buried in a martyrs' park in Shenyang, with a burial ceremony due to be held on Friday morning.
"I am honored to join in the task of receiving the soldiers' remains. They are heros," said Du Yuxin, a soldier who participated in the reception at the airport.
According to an agreement between China and ROK signed in late 2013, the two sides consult every year on the handover of remains of Chinese soldiers found in ROK.
Remains of a total number of 505 soldiers were returned to China in 2014 and 2015.
The Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) fought with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's army in the Korean War against the ROK army and U.S.-led UN forces. Nearly 200,000 CPV soldiers have been confirmed killed in the war so far, most of whom were buried on the Korean Peninsula.
