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On This Day: UN and Korea exchange wounded prisoners of war
Red Cross met prisoners - some of whom had been kept prisoner since the start of the war in 1950
April 20: Sick and wounded prisoners of war were released as part of an exchange program between Communist Korea and United Nation forces in 1953.
Thousands of prisoners had been taken captive during the Korean War and on the first exchange a total of 100 were freed by their North Korean captors - 12 of whom were British.
An American family who had been told their son was missing in action were ecstatic when they learned their son formed part of this exchange. In this clip the family can be seen huddling around the mother as she tearfully speaks to her son on the phone - who gives her the welcome news that he'll be back home within a few days.
Meanwhile, back in the Korea peninsula UN soldiers emerge from ambulances with varying degrees of injuries.
The Red Cross met the UN prisoners on South Korean soil with cigarettes and toiletries, some of whom had been kept prisoner since the start of the war in 1950.
While American and British prisoners had few complaints of their treatment under captivity South Koreans told press they were treated like cattle and forced to attend indoctrination sessions.
A total of 684 UN coalition prisoners were exchanged for 6,670 North Korean and Chinese prisoners during the operation.
Known as Operation "Little Switch" it preceded the main exchange of prisoner between the two forces later that year.
The exchange of prisoners was a source of contention towards the end of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been held since 1951 however both sides had opposing views on repatriation.
North Koreans insisted all prisoners should return home while the UN argued those who wished to remain where they were, should be able to - allowing North Korean and Chinese soldiers to defect from their Communist states should they wish to.
Eventually the Communist forces relented on this point allowing for Operation "Big Switch" - the exchange of 76,000 Communist prisoners and 13,000 UN prisoners - to occur between August and December 1953, just a month after an Armistice Agreement was signed.
