China is preparing to bring home the remains of Chinese soldiers who died in Papua New Guinea half a century ago, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The soldiers participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).

Some 1,600 were imprisoned in the South Pacific island nation by the Japanese during the second World War. More than 650 soldiers died in prison camps, while nearly 1,000 soldiers were rescued and sent home by the U.S. navy in 1946.

The Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea is looking for and identifying remains of the dead soldiers, but the Foreign Ministry refused to provide more details as to when their bodies will be sent back to China.

"China has attached great importance to the treatment of the remains of these Chinese soldiers and will have the issue settled without delay," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang at a routine press briefing.

Qin said China will hold a grand memorial ceremony when the remains return.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2009)