By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – The US and South Korea have launched a joint underwater search operation to find the remains of American soldiers who were killed during the Korean War of the early 1950s.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Friday said around 30 soldiers from the two allies began operations early this month in the southeastern city of Busan, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.
The operation aims to recover the remains of three American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, said the ministry.
The slain American soldiers were “presumed to be aboard a B-26 bomber that crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from the K-9 air base in Busan in January 1953.”
Other than Koreans, the most casualties in the Korean War were from soldiers from the US, followed by the UK, Türkiye, and Canada, fighting under a UN resolution.
Since the war, which ended in an armistice, around 28,500 US soldiers have been stationed in South Korea.
This year Seoul and Washington are commemorating 70 years of their alliance.