BEIJING, Dec. 19 -- China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have agreed on returning the remains of Chinese volunteer soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as soon as possible, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Thursday.

The two sides held consultations on the arrangement recently and the ROK promised to hand over remains they have uncovered to the Chinese side as soon as possible, according to a ministry statement.

The two sides will push forward this program through friendly cooperation and under humanitarian principles, the statement said.

The Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) were involved in the Korean War from Oct. 25, 1950, about four months after the conflict broke out, as they tried to help the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea resist U.S. aggression. Tens of thousands of CPV soldiers died on the Korean Peninsula during the war that ended in 1953.

During her visit to China in June this year, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye offered to return the remains of the CPV soldiers to China.