The Ministry of National Defense's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) and the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) have launched a joint field survey in the Gangneung and Yangyang areas of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, running from April 6 to May 1. The survey aims to locate wreckage and traces of U.S. military aircraft lost during the Korean War.

The four-week operation serves as preparatory groundwork for a joint underwater investigation planned for August. Field teams will collect testimony from local residents, gather relevant documentation, and confirm the availability of civilian-operated medical decompression chambers — essential infrastructure for the upcoming diving operations.

The primary focus of the underwater survey is a November 15, 1952 transport aircraft crash. The aircraft, which had taken off from Gangneung Air Base bound for Pohang, went down at sea due to engine failure, leaving nine crew members missing — including one Korean military serviceman.

The joint survey will also collect additional information on two further incidents: a fighter aircraft that crashed into the sea near Yangyang on February 21, 1952, and a transport aircraft that lost control and ditched near Gangneung on October 16, 1952, resulting in 17 missing personnel.

U.S. DPAA Deputy Team Leader SSgt. Jordyn King (USMC), visiting Korea for the survey, said her team has been working alongside MAKRI since 2024 to trace the fallen, and expressed determination to make full use of the month ahead to prepare for successful underwater operations.

Acting MAKRI Director Lt. Col. Kim Sung-hwan noted that joint survey activities with the DPAA have been expanded compared to last year — a sign, he said, of the deepening and strengthening of Korea-U.S. remains recovery cooperation. He pledged that Korea would spare no effort in helping to find U.S. servicemen who fought and went missing while coming to Korea's aid.

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(Press Release translated by AI, edited by David Kendall)