Cemetery for North Korean and Chinese Soldiers: Difference between revisions
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The cemetery was established in July 1996 as a centralised burial place for the remains of [[Korean People's Army]] and People's Volunteer Army soldiers recovered from battlefield exhumations across South Korea and North Korean agents killed in South Korea since the end of the Korean War. |
The cemetery was established in July 1996 as a centralised burial place for the remains of [[Korean People's Army]] and People's Volunteer Army soldiers recovered from battlefield exhumations across South Korea and North Korean agents killed in South Korea since the end of the Korean War. |
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North Korea refused to accept the repatriation of the remains of its personnel on the basis that North Korea claims sovereignty over all of Korea and the soldiers accordingly are already buried on Korean soil. The graves are in the form of traditional Korean burial mounds facing north towards North Korea with plain wooden markers. The majority of the graves are marked anonymous, while those of North Korean agents are marked with "spy" followed by the name if known.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/11/us-korea-cemetery-idUSSEO739320080911|title=South Korean cemetery keeps Cold War alive|publisher=Reuters|date=10 September 2008|accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref> |
North Korea refused to accept the repatriation of the remains of its personnel on the basis that North Korea claims sovereignty over all of Korea and the soldiers accordingly are already buried on Korean soil. The graves are in the form of traditional Korean burial mounds facing north towards North Korea with plain wooden markers. The majority of the graves are marked anonymous, while those of North Korean agents are marked with "spy" followed by the name if known. The cemetery receives few visitors because the South Korean intelligence services monitored the site to detect North Korean sympathisers, but the services say they no longer monitor the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/11/us-korea-cemetery-idUSSEO739320080911|title=South Korean cemetery keeps Cold War alive|publisher=Reuters|date=10 September 2008|accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref> |
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Between 1981 and 1989, North Korea accepted the remains of 42 Chinese soldiers from South Korea through the [[Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission]] and transferred them to Beijing, however after receiving another set of Chinese remains in 1997, the North Koreans refused to accept any further remains.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/world/asia/south-korea-returns-bodies-of-hundreds-of-chinese-soldiers.html?_r=0|title=After Six Decades, Chinese Soldiers Killed in South Korea Head Home|publisher=New York Times|date=28 March 2014|accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref> Following a visit by South Korean President [[Park Geun-hye]] to Beijing in June 2013, it was agreed that the remains of the Chinese soldiers would be repatriated directly to China. The exhumation of the remains started in December 2013 and on March 17 2014, the repatriation of the remains of the 437 Chinese soldiers took place. 55 of the sets of remains were identified while the rest were unknowns. The remains are to be interred in the Resist America and Aid Korea Martyrs Cemetery in [[Shenyang]], China. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2582923/Last-casualties-Korean-war-Burial-400-Chinese-soldiers-peninsula-massive-ill-equipped-Red-Army.html|title=Last casualties of the Korean war: Burial for the 400 Chinese soldiers found in peninsula who were part of massive and ill-equipped Red Army|publisher=Daily Mail|date=17 March 2014|accessdate=18 September 2014}}</ref> |
Between 1981 and 1989, North Korea accepted the remains of 42 Chinese soldiers from South Korea through the [[Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission]] and transferred them to Beijing, however after receiving another set of Chinese remains in 1997, the North Koreans refused to accept any further remains.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/world/asia/south-korea-returns-bodies-of-hundreds-of-chinese-soldiers.html?_r=0|title=After Six Decades, Chinese Soldiers Killed in South Korea Head Home|publisher=New York Times|date=28 March 2014|accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref> Following a visit by South Korean President [[Park Geun-hye]] to Beijing in June 2013, it was agreed that the remains of the Chinese soldiers would be repatriated directly to China. The exhumation of the remains started in December 2013 and on March 17 2014, the repatriation of the remains of the 437 Chinese soldiers took place. 55 of the sets of remains were identified while the rest were unknowns. The remains are to be interred in the Resist America and Aid Korea Martyrs Cemetery in [[Shenyang]], China. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2582923/Last-casualties-Korean-war-Burial-400-Chinese-soldiers-peninsula-massive-ill-equipped-Red-Army.html|title=Last casualties of the Korean war: Burial for the 400 Chinese soldiers found in peninsula who were part of massive and ill-equipped Red Army|publisher=Daily Mail|date=17 March 2014|accessdate=18 September 2014}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 09:00, 18 September 2014
| Cemetery for North Korean and Chinese Soldiers | |
|---|---|
| Südkorea | |
| Used for those deceased 1996–present | |
| Established | July 1996 |
| Standort | |
| Total burials | 770+ |
| Burials by nation | |
* North Korea: 770+ | |
Cemetery for North Korean and Chinese Soldiers (Korean: 북한군/중국군 묘지 제 1 묘역; buk hahn gun / chung kuk gun myo ji chyo il myo won) (also known as the Enemy Cemetery) located in Paju, Republic of Korea, is a burial ground for North Korean casualties of the Korean War and North Korean agents killed in South Korea since the end of the war. The cemetery formerly contained the remains of 437 Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers but these were all repatriated in March 2014.
History
The cemetery was established in July 1996 as a centralised burial place for the remains of Korean People's Army and People's Volunteer Army soldiers recovered from battlefield exhumations across South Korea and North Korean agents killed in South Korea since the end of the Korean War.
North Korea refused to accept the repatriation of the remains of its personnel on the basis that North Korea claims sovereignty over all of Korea and the soldiers accordingly are already buried on Korean soil. The graves are in the form of traditional Korean burial mounds facing north towards North Korea with plain wooden markers. The majority of the graves are marked anonymous, while those of North Korean agents are marked with "spy" followed by the name if known. The cemetery receives few visitors because the South Korean intelligence services monitored the site to detect North Korean sympathisers, but the services say they no longer monitor the site.[1]
Between 1981 and 1989, North Korea accepted the remains of 42 Chinese soldiers from South Korea through the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission and transferred them to Beijing, however after receiving another set of Chinese remains in 1997, the North Koreans refused to accept any further remains.[2] Following a visit by South Korean President Park Geun-hye to Beijing in June 2013, it was agreed that the remains of the Chinese soldiers would be repatriated directly to China. The exhumation of the remains started in December 2013 and on March 17 2014, the repatriation of the remains of the 437 Chinese soldiers took place. 55 of the sets of remains were identified while the rest were unknowns. The remains are to be interred in the Resist America and Aid Korea Martyrs Cemetery in Shenyang, China. [3]
Notable burials
- The 29 members of Unit 124 killed in the Blue House Raid in 1968
- Kim Sung-il, North Korean agent responsible for the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987
- The 9 man crew of the 1998 Sokcho submarine incident
See also
References
- ^ "South Korean cemetery keeps Cold War alive". Reuters. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^ "After Six Decades, Chinese Soldiers Killed in South Korea Head Home". New York Times. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^ "Last casualties of the Korean war: Burial for the 400 Chinese soldiers found in peninsula who were part of massive and ill-equipped Red Army". Daily Mail. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.