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Former South Korean prisoners of war who have fled North Korea will attend an event to mark the 60th Armed Forces Day to be held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 1. The Defense Ministry on Thursday said it will invite former POWs and their families to the ceremony and provide seats on the central platform to them. Seventy-six people -- 38 former POWs and their families -- have already accepted the invitation.
Since 1994, when Cho Chang-ho, an Army lieutenant who escaped North Korea and returned home 43 years after he was captured, a total of 74 POWs and 158 family members have returned home. Fifty-nine of the returned POWs are still alive. From January until August this year, four former POWs have returned home with six family members. According to the ministry, about 560 South Korean POWs are alive in the North now.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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