North Korean officers on Oct. 18, 2012, inspect the remains of a North soldier whose body was found south of the line dividing the two Koreas during a repatriation ceremony in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
North Korean officers on Oct. 18, 2012, inspect the remains of a North soldier whose body was found south of the line dividing the two Koreas during a repatriation ceremony in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
The United Nations Command Honor Guard unloads a casket containing the remains of a North Korean solider from a hearse during a repatriation ceremony on Oct. 18, 2012, in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
A United Nations Command Honor Guard carries a casket containing the remains of a North Korean soldier during a repatriation ceremony Oct 18, 2012, in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. The soldier's body was pulled Aug. 23 from the Hantan River, about two milies south of the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
North Korean officers are led onto the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas during a repatriation ceremony Oct. 18, 2012, in the Demilitarized Zone, during which the remains of a North soldier were returned. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
A casket containing the remains of a North Korea soldier is passed across the Military Demarcation Line from the United Nations Command Honor Guard to a group of North soldiers during a repatriation ceremony Oct. 18, 2012, in the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
North Korean officers confer with a United Nations Command Honor Guard contingent on Oct. 18, 2012, at the conclusion of a repatriation ceremony in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
An ambulance rolls away from a repatriation ceremony on Oct. 18, 2102, in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone after picking up the remains of a North Korean soldier found dead on the south side of the line dividing the two Koreas. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
North Korean soldiers march away after a repatriation ceremony on Oct. 18, 2012, in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
A North Korean soldier peers across the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone on Oct. 18, 2012, after a repatriation ceremony. Reflected in the window behind him is the ambulance that carried away the remains of a North soldier that were returned during the event. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
DEMILITARIZED ZONE, Korea — Military officials from both sides of the Demilitarized Zone put their differences on hold for 10 minutes Thursday for the ceremonial return of a North Korean soldier whose body was found south of the line dividing the two Koreas.
The repatriation ceremony featured the unusual sight of three North Korean officers being escorted briefly onto the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line to inspect the soldier’s remains before his casket was handed back over the line by members of the United Nations Command Honor Guard.
North Korean soldiers then loaded the casket into a waiting ambulance.
U.N. Command officials have been trying for more than a month to coordinate the return of the remains of the North Korean private, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s. His body was pulled Aug. 23 from the flood gates of the Hantan River, less than two miles south of the border.
Officials believe he drowned and the current carried his body into South Korea.
A U.N. Command spokesman said remains of North Koreans are found south of the border once or twice a year. If they are soldiers, their bodies are returned in repatriation ceremonies. If they are civilians, Red Cross officials from both Koreas handle the transfer.
Activities on the north side of the Joint Security Area before, during and immediately after Thursday’s ceremony appeared to be the same as usual, despite the defections earlier this month of two North Korean soldiers across the DMZ.
