A Y-20B military transport aircraft of the Chinese Air Force departed from an airport in central China on Monday for the Republic of Korea (ROK) to repatriate the 13th batch of the remains of Chinese People's Volunteers' (CPV) soldiers fallen in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).
After the Y-20B enters China's airspace on its return flight, four J-20 fighter jets of the Chinese Air Force will provide escort.
China's large homegrown transport aircraft, Y-20, officially codenamed "Kunpeng", has carried out the repatriation task since 2020. This year marks the first time the Y-20B has performed this mission.
The Y-20B, an upgraded variant of China's Y-20A strategic airlifter, is powered by a new domestically produced engine and boasts extended range, high load capacity, and high speed.
China's Air Force has sent its aircraft to bring back home CPV martyrs' remains from the ROK every year since 2015.
An emblem for the mission was also released. It consists of a sculpture of a CPV soldier, the CPV badge, an echelon of a Y-20B transport aircraft and four J-20 fighter jets, a soldier in the new era, and doves of peace. It is also accompanied by the words "Heroes 1950" and "Return Home 2026".
Since 2014, China and the ROK have completed 12 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 1,011 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related items.
The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Chinese ground forces under the CPV entered the Korean Peninsula on Oct. 19, 1950. A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers joined the war that lasted almost three years, with more than 360,000 killed or injured.
China's Y-20B transport plane departs to repatriate remains of Chinese soldiers fallen in Korean War
