S Korea returns remains of 20 Chinese soldiers from Korean War

A ceremony is held to hand over remains of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War to China, the fifth handover since 2014, at South Korea's Incheon International Airport, March 28, 2018. (Photo: China News Service/Wu Xu)

South Korea returned the remains of 20 Chinese People's Volunteer (CPV) soldiers who were killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War on Wednesday morning.

A handover ceremony of the caskets, covered with the Chinese national flag, was held at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 10 a.m. local time.

Over 197,000 CPV soldiers were believed to have perished in the war, with most buried on the Korean Peninsula.

It marks the fifth batch of remains returned since 2014. According to Yonhap, the total number of Chinese remains repatriated has reached 589 since a 2013 agreement.

Chinese vice minister of civil affairs Gao Xiaobing and Chinese ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong also attended the ceremony.

Qingming Festival, also known as "Tomb-Sweeping Day", falls on April 5 this year.