South Korea has identified the remains of a soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War through a DNA analysis after they were recovered from near a former battle site, the defense ministry said Monday.

Myung Han-hyup's remains were excavated in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers east of Seoul, in 2017. His son, Myung Gap-won, 72, had registered his DNA sample in 2010 to find his father, according to the ministry.

The identification marks the 153rd such case since South Korea began excavating remains in 2000 to find soldiers who died during the Korean war.

The private first class is presumed to have died in June 1951 shortly after a battle in Gapyeong and Hwacheon where the military blocked the Chinese forces' advance to the South.

Around 140,000 South Korean troops were killed in action and some 450,000 others injured during the three-year war. The number of fallen South Korean troops whose remains have yet to be recovered stands at around 123,000.

The ministry said it will hold a ceremony to mark Myung's return and lay his remains at a national cemetery. (Yonhap)