South Korea has identified the remains of a soldier from the Korean War 13 years after they were discovered.

The defense ministry's excavation team said on Wednesday that DNA analysis revealed the remains to be those of Noh Jae-gyun, whose rank was equivalent to today's staff sergeant.

At the time of the excavation in Chuncheon city in 2009, two of his bones - a femur and tibia - were found. But there were no personal items recovered, which required the team to investigate records of the Army's 7th Division, Noh's unit that fought in a battle at the site. The team was able to track his sister and conduct a DNA test.

He was known to have died on December 24th, 1950 in a battle near Chuncheon.

His was the eighth excavated remains to be identified this year, with the ministry having so far identified the remains of 189 South Korean troops since the project started in 2000.