S. Korea to open cutting-edge lab to ID fallen Korean War soldiers

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will open a state-of-the-art laboratory
Thursday dedicated to exhuming and identifying the remains of soldiers fallen
during the Korean War, the defense ministry said.

The opening of the 4-billion-won (US$2.8 million) facility in Seoul comes almost
a decade after South Korea began unearthing the remains of United Nations and
Korean soldiers that had not been accounted for from the 1950-53 war that ended
in a truce.
Describing the project as an "effort to honor state responsibilities for those
who sacrificed themselves," Col. Park Shin-han said the laboratory is a major
improvement from rudimentary facilities where over 2,000 soldiers have so far
been identified.
"With the cutting-edge equipment, we can now more systematically and effectively
conduct the work," said Park, who heads the Ministry of National Defense Agency
for KIA Recovery and Identification. KIA stands for "killed in action."
Park said the agency will employ equipment that performs electromagnetic
radiation and three-dimensional scanning for identification. The agency will also
have greater storage capacity, allowing its researchers to preserve DNA samples
longer.
The opening ceremony on Thursday will be attended by South Korea's chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim Tae-young, and U.S. Rear Adm. Donna L. Crisp of
the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), the ministry said. POW stands for
prisoners of war, and MIA for "missing in action."
samkim@yna.co.kr
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