In a solemn ceremony held at Incheon International Airport in the Republic of Korea on April 22, 2026, officials and representatives gathered to mark the upcoming repatriation of the 13th batch of remains of Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) martyrs who fell during the Korean War. The handover event, documented in an official photograph from Xinhua News Agency, transferred the remains of 12 fallen CPV service members alongside 146 recovered personal artifacts that belonged to the martyrs. This annual repatriation effort represents a decades-long commitment to honoring the sacrifice of Chinese troops who fought in the 1950–1953 Korean War, bringing fallen service members home to their native soil after decades of being interred abroad. The repatriation program, which launched its first batch of returns in 2014, has become a poignant annual tradition that reinforces the shared historical memory of the Korean War between China and the Republic of Korea, and underscores the commitment of both nations to upholding respect for fallen service members and reconciliation. For Chinese communities at home and abroad, the return of these martyrs carries profound cultural and patriotic weight, allowing the families of fallen service members to finally lay their loved ones to rest in their homeland after more than 70 years. The handover ceremony in Incheon follows coordinated diplomatic and logistical work between Chinese and South Korean authorities, who have collaborated closely over the past 13 years to locate, excavate, and transfer the recovered remains of CPV martyrs. This event comes as part of a broader ongoing effort to account for all missing Chinese service members from the Korean War, reflecting China’s longstanding promise to never forget those who gave their lives in service of the nation.
