Since 1982, the remains of over 450 Americans killed in the Korean War have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. This number is in addition to the roughly 2,000
Americans whose remains were identified in the years following the end of hostilities, when the North Korean government returned over 3,000 sets of remains to U.S. custody
Under 7,500 Americans are still unaccounted-for from the Korean War, hundreds of whom are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning that after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that
the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
DPAA and our partners continue to build on over sixty years of investigative efforts on the Korean peninsula. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of loss sites in South Korea to collect evidence,
investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
In its three years, one month, and two days, some 3 million people from all involved belligerents died during the Korean War, making it the deadliest conflict of the Cold War era. The United States suffered approximately 36,500 casualties, making up over 90% of non-Korean UN losses. Of those, over 7,000 personnel remain unaccounted for.
All laboratory cases from Korea are under the purview of the Korean War Identification Project, including unilateral turnovers (the K208 and K55), field recoveries (JROs), and cemetery disinterments (Punchbowl Unknowns), representing the largest identification project within the DPAA. Cases from Korea represent highly commingled human remains involving thousands of missing persons from varied proveniences, while the Korean War Identification Project highlights the challenges and successes of a multi-disciplinary approach involving historians, anthropologists, odontologists, and DNA and isotope specialists working with family members towards identification and resolution.
Progress on Korean War Personnel Accounting
U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
Joint Commision Support Division
Through its Joint Commission Support Division (JCSD), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) provides administrative and analytic support to the U.S. Side of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC) and conducts research in Russia on missing U.S. service personnel. JCSD also assists the Government of Russia with efforts to account for its missing.
China Operations | Total Each Category | Identified |
---|---|---|
Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (2014) | 1 | 0 |
Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (1975) | 2 | 2 |
Remains recovered and repatriated through investigative and recovery operations since 1992 | 23 | 23 |
Total remains identified 1975 to present | -- | 25 |
Korean War
Facts & Figures
- Dates
- June 27, 1950 – July 27, 1953
- Location
- Korean Peninsula
- Missing as of 1973*
- 8157
- Accounted For**
- 677
- Unaccounted For
- 7480