South Korea will begin a joint excavation with Australia to recover the remains of an Australian soldier killed during the 1950–53 Korean War, the Defense Ministry said Friday.
According to the ministry, the Defense Ministry’s Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification will excavate Mokdong-ri, Buk-myeon, Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, in cooperation with the Australian Army's Unrecovered War Casualties and the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment.
The operation marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong, a key engagement involving Commonwealth forces during the Korean War.
The joint team will include 10 South Korean specialists, four Australian investigators and forensic personnel, and six soldiers from the 3rd Battalion who represent the unit that fought in the battle. About 80 troops from a South Korean Army division based in Gapyeong will provide additional support.
The excavation is focused on locating the remains of Cpl. William K. Murphy, a member of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. He went missing during the battle that took place April 23-25, 1951.
Of the 42 Australian service members listed as missing from the Korean War — 22 from the Army, two from the Navy and 18 from the Air Force — 41 are believed to remain in North Korea or the Demilitarized Zone, making Murphy the only individual whose remains may be recoverable within South Korea.
Officials said the likelihood of recovery is considered relatively high, citing testimony from a local who recalled seeing remains in the mountains around 1960, along with a uniform button that said “Australia.”
“The agency will mobilize all available findings and capabilities to recover Murphy’s remains and lay him to rest at the UN Memorial Cemetery,” the ministry said.
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