Today marks the 71st anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
From 2014 to 2021, china and the ROK followed humanitarian principles and in the spirit of friendly consultation and pragmatic cooperation, successfully handed over the remains of 825 martyrs of the Chinese Volunteer Army in the ROK for eight consecutive years. The Ministry of Veterans Affairs led the relevant military and local departments to establish a DNA database of martyrs' remains for all the martyrs' remains in the first seven batches of martyrs who returned to China for burial, and found relatives for multiple martyrs by looking up comparative relics, searching historical material archives, and comparing bioinformatics.
On September 1, the handover ceremony of the remains of the eighth batch of Chinese volunteers in Korea was held at Incheon Airport in South Korea. Photo by Zhang Yue
Through interviews with veterans' affairs workers, scientific research experts, scholars, excavation witnesses, reporters in South Korea, etc., this paper reveals the institutional mechanism of the operation of the Korean martyrs' remains search and appraisal institutions and the behind-the-scenes stories of excavation and identification, tells the current efforts and technological breakthroughs made by China in the field of search and identification of martyrs' remains, looks forward to the development direction of China's martyrs' remains search and identification work, and puts forward some work enlightenment and suggestions.
The handing over of the remains of martyrs in the Korean Volunteer Army has become a common practice
Liu Bin, 22, is serving in the military in South Korea with the rank of military commander. When the reporter contacted him by phone, he had just participated in the excavation of the remains of the eighth batch of martyrs of the Korean Chinese Volunteer Army this year.
Every year on June 25, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, South Korea embarks on a two-month exhumation operation that has been uninterrupted since 2013. In addition to experts in archaeology, history, anthropology, and identification, there are thousands of active soldiers like Liu Bin participating in this huge project.
Each year, troops around the excavation area are mobilized to take turns, and soldiers can voluntarily apply according to the training plan. Liu Bin, who studied in China and has a special affection for China, volunteered with 12 of his comrades-in-arms at the end of June this year to participate in the excavations.
South Korean soldiers excavated at the site
"At most, there are more than 2,000 people on a mountain at the same time." Liu Bin told reporters that all military personnel involved in the excavation must receive training on site protection, identification of remains and the use of archaeological tools before they can begin work.
South Korea's annual excavations are led by a skeleton excavation and identification mission affiliated with the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. Before excavation, the skeleton location investigation team based on the war history data and the participants, nearby residents dictated, and combined with the remnants of the war, the place where the battle took place marked a square area on the map with latitude and longitude, and then applied to the local administrative department and landowner after determining the excavation site. Subsequently, many of the accompanying excavation units will carry out excavations under the guidance of experts according to the division of labor.
On July 6, 2021, Liu Bin and his comrades finally excavated a human leg bone after the 9th consecutive day of continuous work. "Before handing it over to the on-site wreckage recovery team, we almost spelled out the skeleton outline of the soldier." But what most concerned Liu Bin was the Chinese characters and special patterns on the soles of the shoes left behind by the remains of the foot bones, from which they judged that this was a Chinese soldier.
Equipment wreckage excavated by the South Korean military
Hsien Chung-in Temple, located in the foothills of Mount Gwangak in Seoul, South Korea. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, it is the cemetery of the Korean National Military and the site of the Excavation and Identification Mission of the Korean Ministry of National Defense. Stepping into the gate of the excavation and identification group, the stone tablet on the right side is engraved with the regiment's motto - "Let them return to the embrace of the motherland". The remains and relics excavated by Liu Bin were eventually sent here to complete the follow-up identification work.
According to a research by the Martyrs' Remains Search and Identification Center of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, in 2000, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense planned to carry out the search and excavation of the remains of martyrs. On January 1, 2007, the "Order of the Ministry of National Defense Exhumation and Identification Mission" was promulgated, and the skeleton excavation and identification group was officially established. In the following 10 years, South Korea has revised and promulgated a number of laws or regulations. The reporter learned that the law has entrusted the skeleton excavation and identification group with the responsibility of formulating and implementing medium- and long-term plans for excavating the remains of south Korean troops killed in the Korean War, investigating, confirming and excavating the remains, confirming the identity of the remains and confirming the families of the remains, and collecting, preserving and managing the excavation data of the remains. The Excavation and Identification Mission consists of five departments, including the Planning and Operation Division (Division), the Investigation and Excavation Division (Division), the Identification Division (Division), the Inspection Office and the Support Brigade. After nearly 20 years of development, the institution has formed a relatively mature working system and a complete institutional mechanism in the field of excavation and identification of remains, and has trained a large number of professional and technical personnel.
On the morning of September 1, at a temporary resettlement site for a troop garrison in Incheon City, South Korea, Zhang Yue, a people's daily correspondent in South Korea, had the privilege of witnessing the entire burial process of the remains and relics of the eighth batch of martyrs of the Korean Chinese Volunteer Army.
"The Korean side's rigorous work attitude and professional operation are impressive!" Zhang Yue told reporters that the staff carefully wrapped each piece of Koryo paper made of cotton and cocoons and put it into a wooden coffin, and placed flowers on the outside of the coffin. Each relic was carefully cleaned up and numbered. There are specific requirements for each process and operation of the staff.
South Korean staff wrapped the remains of the Chinese Volunteer Army martyrs and put them in coffins. Photo by Zhang Yue
Dr. Im Nahyok, an expert from the South Korean side, participated in the identification and handover of the remains of the volunteer martyrs in all eight batches. Her Central Laboratory, which is responsible for identifying the remains, is composed of people with master's degrees or above in archaeology, anthropology and biology.
From 2014 to 2021, china and the ROK followed humanitarian principles and in the spirit of friendly consultation and pragmatic cooperation, successfully handed over the remains of eight batches of 825 martyrs for eight consecutive years. "In the future, the remains of the martyrs of the Chinese Volunteer Army excavated in South Korea will continue to be handed over to China by South Korea, which has become a common practice." Li Zhongshui, director of the Martyrs' Remains Search and Identification Center of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, told reporters that in the next step, they will continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with the South Korean side, actively promote the protection of the remains of the martyrs in the Korean Volunteer Army, and continue to do a good job in the routine handover and repatriation of the remains of the volunteer martyrs.
At the burial ceremony, all the personnel bowed three times to the remains of the martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Photo by Tao Ran
Lu Chao, chief expert of the Center for Korean and Korean Studies of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said that China and the ROK have cooperated in handing over the remains of the volunteer martyrs in the ROK for eight consecutive years, which shows the greatest goodwill of the ROK side and full respect and etiquette for the martyrs of the volunteer army, and its political significance lies in not only promoting the friendly relations between China and the ROK and the friendly feelings between the people of the two countries, but also of practical significance for maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula at present.
The core technology of the identification of remains has reached the international advanced level
Zhan Wuzhuang Village, Foge Temple Town, Xincai County, is located 135 kilometers southeast of Zhumadian City, Henan Province.
Zhan Wuzhuang Village is the hometown of the seventh batch of martyrs of the Korean Chinese Volunteer Army, Zhan Zhizhong. With the return of Zhan Zhizhong's remains, there is a seal numbered CHN-626 engraved with "Zhan Zhizhong". The Martyrs' Relics Search and Appraisal Center of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Academy of Military Medicine of the Academy of Military Sciences and other relevant departments in the military and localities screened out a list of 431 martyrs by searching for historical materials and archival records, combining factors such as the time of martyrdom, the place of combat, and the location of the excavation of the remains. In the end, the identity and kinship of 4 martyrs, including Zhan Zhizhong, were confirmed.
Exhibit the relics and seals of the martyr Zhizhong
"Using DNA and other technical means to determine the identity and relatives of martyrs is a new field and a new breakthrough in the work of praising martyrs." Li Zhongshui told reporters that this is the first time since the establishment of the Martyrs' Remains Search and Appraisal Center of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs that it has undertaken the identification and comparison of the remains of martyrs. Identifying the remains of martyrs is an extremely complex and rigorous task. The mission team overcame difficulties such as long time, lack of information, and distant kinship, and successfully confirmed the identity of the martyr in a relatively short period of time, which verified the feasibility of the identification and comparison path of the martyr's remains.
On April 16, 2020, the Martyrs' Memorial Facilities Protection Center (Remains Search and Identification Center) of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs was officially established, and the search and identification of martyrs' remains, martyr deeds and relics collection and collation are one of its main responsibilities.
According to the reporter's understanding, at present, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs has led the relevant units of the military and local governments to complete the collection of DNA information on the remains of the volunteer martyrs who have been returned, established a DNA database of the remains of the volunteer martyrs, translated and completed the handover of foreign language materials on the remains of the volunteer martyrs, and counted and sorted out thousands of martyrs' relics, all of which were electronically archived.
In the next step, the Remains Search and Identification Center will establish a DNA database of martyrs' remains and a DNA database of martyrs' families, and through the comparison of DNA information in the two databases, strive to let more martyrs find their relatives. If the comparison is not successful, it will be further compared in the DNA database of the Ministry of Public Security. At the same time, through clues such as relics, we continued to carry out family search activities for other unknown heroes.
In January 2015, the state launched the "Zhongbone Project", and Wang Shengqi, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences' Institute of Military Medicine, and his team were tasked with establishing a "DNA database of the remains of martyrs of the Korean Volunteer Army".
DNA database of the remains of martyrs in the Korean Volunteer Army
Wang Shengqi told reporters that the identification of the remains of the martyrs of the Volunteer Army needs to overcome two major problems: First, due to the age of the martyrs and the poor burial conditions, the degree of degradation of the remains is very serious, which brings great difficulties to DNA extraction. Second, most of the martyrs of the volunteer army had no offspring when they died, and there were very few parents and siblings who were alive, mainly relying on the DNA of distant relatives for comparison and complex kinship identification. These are two internationally recognized technical problems.
"The overall level is internationally advanced, and some technologies are internationally pioneered." After years of hard work, Wang Shengqi's team broke through the core technical bottlenecks such as low success rate, high inhibitor and long time of DNA extraction of old remains, and could complete the DNA extraction of the remains within 6 hours at the earliest, and the extraction success rate could reach more than 95%.
The institutional system urgently needs to be further improved and perfected
On the afternoon of September 17, this reporter went to the Academy of Military Medicine of the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing. Here, Wang Shengqi and his team members are preparing for the eighth batch of DNA sampling of the remains of korean volunteer martyrs in Shenyang.
Wang Shengqi's team at the Academy of Military Medicine of the Academy of Military Sciences is conducting DNA identification. Courtesy of the Military Medical Research Institute
"Joint military and local superiority units and resources to set up specialized institutions such as dna identification of national martyrs' remains, systematically and regularly carry out the basic information database, DNA database construction and recognition of relatives of missing martyrs and relatives, and do our best to 'make every unknown martyr famous.'" Wang Shengqi said that at present, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Europe and other countries and regions in the world have set up special excavation and appraisal institutions. In order to promote the establishment of a national institution for the excavation and appraisal of the remains of martyrs, the relevant departments have been working hard in recent years.
"Push forward the establishment of a dna database of relatives as soon as possible, and race against time, this work is urgent and urgent!" Wang Shengqi said that the DNA database of relatives is equally important as the DNA database of martyrs, and he suggested that the DNA samples of close relatives of martyrs should be collected as soon as possible to improve the success rate, accuracy and efficiency of recognition and comparison. He also suggested that extensive social forces be mobilized, including the veterans' affairs department, public security, medical and health system and other departments to jointly exert efforts, so that more survivors and relatives of martyrs can be sampled.
Wang Shengqi frankly said that the large-scale development of martyr DNA database construction and recognition of relatives is the first time in China, compared with other countries, China has a big gap in specialized agencies, full-time personnel, technical standards and laws and regulations, can not well meet the systematic, large-scale and normalization of the martyrs' DNA database construction and recognition of relatives of the task needs.
"Martyrs searching for relatives, this is the gesture of the country, but also a commitment to the soldiers, no matter where you are, the country has the responsibility to take you home." Lu Chao, chief expert of the Center for Korean and Korean Studies of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said that whether it is in the period of war or the period of peaceful construction, the people's respect for heroes and martyrs should never change. The use of modern scientific and technological means to find relatives for the heroic souls of martyrs who died 70 years ago and the remains of heroic martyrs for their families is the people's remembrance and reverence for the martyrs and the respect and comfort of the relatives of the martyrs, and also demonstrates the responsibility of a big country and political party.
Li Zhongshui told reporters that South Korea has a relatively complete legal system for the excavation and identification of the remains of martyrs. However, South Korean legislation is based on the search and excavation identification of "those who have contributed to their own country", and the remains of volunteer martyrs are passively excavated.
In recent years, China and the ROK have laid a good foundation for cooperation in the excavation, identification and handover of the remains of the martyrs of the Volunteer Army. However, the search and appraisal of martyrs' remains in China started late, the foundation is thin, and the work experience of excavation and appraisal is relatively lacking, so it is necessary to increase exchanges and cooperation to learn from experience, and at the same time strengthen basic research, master advanced experience, improve work capabilities, and lay a good foundation for long-term search and identification and protection of martyrs' remains.
Chinese the salutatorians of the People's Liberation Army received the coffins of the martyrs of the Korean Chinese Volunteer Army from the Hands of the Korean Li bing. Photo by Wang Jingyan
It is understood that South Korea's search and appraisal team mainly relies on the military to form, the business departments are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, advanced hardware, complete personnel, wide professional coverage. There is a big gap in China's specialized agencies, full-time personnel, technical standards and laws and regulations. Li Zhongshui suggested that China can give full play to the advantages of relevant domestic military and local units and scientific research institutes of colleges and universities, and use wisdom to promote the formation of professional team platforms such as search, excavation, and appraisal.
Li Zhongshui said that China can gradually formulate and promulgate laws and regulations related to the search and appraisal of martyrs' remains in accordance with the overall design and step-by-step implementation, and actively strive to incorporate the search and excavation of martyrs' remains into the overall framework of system construction as soon as possible, clarify the planning, system construction, and work standards for the search and excavation of remains, establish a unified national standardized excavation and protection procedures system, and let more volunteer martyrs return to the embrace of the motherland at an early date.
Source: "Chinese Veterans" WeChat public account