Trump thanks Kim for ‘kind action’
N. Korea boss handed over war remains
HONOLULU — The U.S. military is beginning the painstaking process of analyzing remains from the Korean War now they are back on American soil after having been handed over by North Korea last week.
Vice-President Mike Pence and the top commander of U.S. forces in Asia, Adm. Phil Davidson, received the remains contained in 55 caskets during an emotional and solemn ceremony Wednesday after the boxes arrived by military cargo jets from South Korea.
“They were husbands and fathers, brothers and neighbours — long gone, but never lost to the memory of their loved ones,” Pence said during the ceremony at a military base in Hawaii.
The homecoming comes 65 years after an armistice ended the conflict and after President Donald Trump received a commitment from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at their June summit in Singapore, for their return.
Trump, in a tweet Wednesday night, thanked Kim “for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action.”
Each container was covered in an American flag and carried off the aircraft by one Marine, one sailor, one soldier and one airman. The troops carefully set each box on risers inside a hangar as Pence stood watching with his hand over his heart. Davidson saluted. Some of the invited guests wiped tears from their eyes.
The homecoming comes 65 years after an armistice ended the conflict and weeks after Trump received a commitment from Kim for their return.
It could take months or years to determine the identities of the remains.