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The remains of four Turkish soldiers killed in the Korean War have been handed over to Turkish officials 75 years after their deaths, Türkiye's Ambassador to Seoul Murat Tamer announced.
Tamer told a state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent that the skeletal remains were discovered during excavation work in the Kunu-ri region, where Türkiye suffered its heaviest casualties during the 1950-1953 Korean War battles on the North Korean side.
The discovery came under a 2001 agreement between the United States and North Korea for excavation work in former battle areas.
Tamer said numerous bones and war artifacts found during the excavations were subjected to examination and assembly at a U.S. scientific center in Hawaii, where genetic research was conducted.
"Detailed analyses were carried out to achieve accurate results, including examination of fabric fragments attached to the bones to determine which army soldiers under the United Nations Command they might belong to," Tamer said. However, the work could not be completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The skeletal remains were assembled at laboratories of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) under the U.S. Department of Defense in Hawaii.
Tamer said DNA tests were requested from families for final results, and a working group involving different institutions was established in Türkiye.
"Data from this commission will be compared with the remains here, and final identities will emerge. We recited (Surah) Fatiha and prayers for the souls of our soldiers here after 75 years. We hope to announce information about who our soldiers are to the public as soon as possible," Tamer noted.
One skeleton was determined to be Turkish with nearly 100% probability, while three other skeletons were identified as being of Anatolian origin through genetic and other research, officials informed Turkish authorities.
Tamer said detailed booklets were prepared for each soldier, and bpnes of four people killed in the war were transported from the U.S. base in Hawaii to Osan U.S. Military Base in South Korea via special aircraft.
The coordination was established between the Ministry of National Defense Recovery and Identification Agency (MAKRI) under South Korea's Ministry of Defense and the Military Attaché of Türkiye's Seoul Embassy.
"The remains of the four martyrs were handed over to us and Korean officials wrapped in Turkish flags via special aircraft from Hawaii," Tamer said.
"A ceremony was held during the handover with the participation of high-level UN officials," he noted.
U.N. Command officials told them this was the first time remains of foreign soldiers, other than Koreans killed in the Korean War, were transported to Korea, according to Tamer.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea.
China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea throughout the war, while the United Nations, led by the United States, supported South Korea. The Turkish Brigade fought alongside South Korea as part of UN forces.
After the U.N. Security Council approved sending U.N. forces to Korea to end the North Korean invasion, Türkiye decided to join the war on the UN side.
The 1st Turkish Brigade under Brigadier General Tahsin Yazici departed from Iskenderun Port in Hatay in September 1950 and arrived at Pusan Port on Oct. 12, 1950.
The United States sent the most soldiers to the Korean War with 1.79 million troops. Britain ranked second with 56,000 soldiers, and Canada third with 26,791 soldiers.
According to South Korean Defense Ministry sources, Türkiye participated in the war with 21,212 soldiers in a total of four brigades, ranking fourth among 16 countries that participated in the Korean War in terms of personnel numbers.
In the war, 178,569 people died in South Korea, including 40,670 U.N. soldiers and 137,899 Korean soldiers. In North Korea, 508,797 soldiers lost their lives.
The United States, which lost 36,940 soldiers in the Korean War, became the "country with the most casualties." Britain followed the U.S. with 1,078 casualties.
According to Korean Veterans Ministry records, Türkiye ranked third in Korean War casualties, with over 900 dead, including more than 700 killed in battle, those who died from wounds after leaving the front, and missing soldiers.
Some 462 Turkish soldiers killed in the war rest in the U.N. Korean Memorial Cemetery in Busan.
The Korean War stopped with a cease-fire agreement made on July 27, 1953, but technically continues because no peace treaty was signed.
Although South Korea and North Korea have held many meetings with the aim of reunification since the war, Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile program tests, which have repeatedly brought the two countries face to face in recent years, are considered one of the biggest obstacles to ending the war since 1953.
Peace treaty attempts for the Korean War have remained inconclusive.
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