The conference was attended by Sr. Col. Mai Kim Binh, Political Commissar of the Quang Ngai Provincial Military Command and Standing Deputy Head of the provincial Steering Committee 515, and other committee members, alongside representatives of relevant departments, sectors, and localities.
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Standing Vice Chairwoman of the Quang Ngai Provincial People’s Committee and head of the provincial Steering Committee 515 Y Ngoc addressing the conference |
Over the past time, the provincial Steering Committee 515 has carried out its tasks in a coordinated manner, actively receiving and processing information and conducting surveys, searches, and recovery operations. As of August 22, 25 survey and verification missions had been conducted across 15 areas, resulting in the recovery of the remains of 17 fallen soldiers.
Biological samples have been collected at 70 of the province’s 113 martyrs’ cemeteries, with work underway at 12 cemeteries. A total of 8,402 graves have been exhumed, including 5,788 eligible for sampling, while 3,348 samples have been handed over for DNA analysis and the identification of fallen soldiers’ remains.
A consensus was reached on the direction, contents, and coordination measures for the 2026-2027 dry season during the talks with three provinces in southern Laos and Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province. The parties agreed that Team K53 would carry out its mission from August 28, 2026, to May 31, 2027.
Preparations for the team have largely been completed, including personnel, political education, training, inspection and maintenance of vehicles and equipment, logistics, technical and medical support, and arrangements for the deployment ceremony.
In her concluding remarks, Y Ngoc called on agencies, units, and localities to maintain a strong sense of responsibility and close coordination to fulfill assigned tasks and targets. She urged relevant forces to accelerate the exhumation, collection, preservation, and handover of biological samples, with the goal of completing sampling at all 113 martyrs’ cemeteries by September 2026.
Sample collection results are to be synchronized with digitization and database updates to support DNA analysis and identification efforts. She also directed the organization of a solemn and practical deployment ceremony for Team K53 before it begins its mission in three provinces in southern Laos and Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province, with a target of recovering at least 20 sets of fallen soldiers’ remains during the 2026–2027 dry season.
Y Ngoc further instructed Team K53 to maintain information exchanges with neighboring countries’ forces, promptly update new information and adjust search plans as necessary while ensuring absolute safety for personnel, vehicles, and equipment. The team was urged to begin its mission at the start of the dry season, focusing on areas where information has been verified and assessed as highly reliable, while strengthening the collection of information from local sources.
Translated by Tran Hoai