IT’S taken more than 60 years but now the remains of a group of Korean War soldiers are finally returning home.
Photographs have emerged of a repatriation ceremony of exhumed bones of Chinese troops who fought alongside North Korea during the 1950-53 war.
The pictures show the skeletons delicately being sorted and put in coffins in poignant ceremony in Incheon, South Korea attended by Chinese military officers.
During the Korean War, the US and other Western powers such as the UK backed South Korea against the communist run north and China.
Some 400,000 Chinese soldiers died during the savage Cold War era conflict which ended in a truce which holds today.
But tensions have been running high after repeated nuclear and missile tests.
It is feared another Korean War could break out because of repeated sabre rattling by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un leading to even worse bloodshed than the last conflict.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Yet it remains unclear whether China would back up its old ally with military help should Korean War 2 break out.
Tensions between Beijing and South Korea are also at breaking point over the deployment of the US Thaad missile system.
Washington insists the weaponry aims to shoot down North Korean rockets.
But China fears the Thaad missile system could also shoot down its ballistic missiles at a time when it is bidding to grab the South China Sea islands.
But despite the animosity South Korean officials say their country is keen to fulfil its Geneva Convention obligation and repatriate remains.
Yesterday the US hinted that it would consider a pre-emptive strike on North Korea – as President Trump took aim at the country’s despotic regime.
Meanwhile, fearing imminent attack, Japan has begun staging mass evacuation drills.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKynZpOke7a3jqecsKtfaH50fphsaGijn6eyorqMsJirZaCesLXB0Z6qZpuYnrumv8RmqqiklJ6ys7%2BMq5ymmZmjwG66zquroWWbpL%2BmrY4%3D