At a ceremony to receive martyrs' remains from Laos (Photo: VNA).

On January 9, in Hanoi, at a meeting held by the National Steering Committee for the search, collection, repatriation, and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains (National Steering Committee 515), Deputy PM Ha, who is also head of the committee, asked ministries, agencies, committees, units, and localities to continue thoroughly grasping the Party and State's viewpoints, policies and guidelines on this crucial mission.

Relevant agencies should complete the data system concerning martyrs and their graves, and optimize technology to improve the identification process of fallen soldiers. This includes establishing effective information channels to support war veterans and their families, he said.

He outlined the committee's forthcoming focus on searching for graves in areas rich in information about martyrs and their graves and continuing to identify unknown fallen soldiers buried in cemeteries, with a particular emphasis on improving the capacity of DNA testing facilities and gene database storage centers.

Looking ahead, the committee plans to enhance the inspection of arising issues and offer timely commendation to organizations and individuals making exceptional contributions to this endeavor.

Last year saw the collection of 1,328 sets of martyrs' remains, including 559 inside the country, 247 in Laos, and 522 in Cambodia. Notably, the identity of 9 out of 124 samples of remains was determined using the DNA testing method, while 251 sets of remains were identified through forensic technique.