The number of countries recognized as having supported South Korea or expressing intent to do so during the Korean War was officially revised to 63 from the previous 41 on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, research has shown that 22 countries that had until now not received recognition had in fact sent supplies or expressed the intent to do so during the 1950-53 war.

The ministry said that the figure used until now was based on incomplete records, but the recent declassification of U.S. records concerning the Korean War allow the count to be corrected. The ministry plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to reflect the changes in textbooks and official records.

With the changes, 19 countries including Austria, Myanmar, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam are now recognized as being supporters of South Korea during the war. Until now the official count had stood at 20.

In addition, Brazil, Bolivia and Nicaragua were recognized as being supporters of South Korea. According to the Defense Ministry, the three countries had officially expressed their intent to send supplies or personnel but did not follow through.

The number of countries that provided troops or medical staff remains the same at 21. During the Korean War 16 countries sent troops, while five nations provided medical staff.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)