The last of the Chinese soldiers who helped North Korea avoid defeat in the Korean War six decades ago have finally gone home. South Korea today repatriated the remains of 437 soldiers from China who have been in the so-called "enemy cemetery" near the city of Paju all these years, reports the Xinhua News Agency. The gesture, marked by an official handover ceremony, is a sign of warming ties between the two nations, reports AP.
The move doesn't mean that the "enemy cemetery" is empty, however. The New York Times reports that the remains of 770 North Korean soldiers are still buried there, and Pyongyang refuses to negotiate for their return. Doing so "would be seen as a gesture of closing the war, which North Korea insists will not be over until Washington signs a peace treaty with it," writes Choe Sang-Hun. (More South Korea stories.)