U.S. officials say North is planning a transfer soon
WASHINGTON — The American military command in South Korea is preparing for the North Koreans to turn over the remains of an unknown number of U.S. or allied service members who have been missing since the Korean War, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Officials say the timing of a ceremony is uncertain but could be very soon. The officials weren’t authorized to discuss the preparations before an official announcement, so they spoke on condition of anonymity.
The remains are believed to be some or all of the more than 200 that the North Koreans have had for some time. But the precise number and the identities — including whether they are U.S. or allied service members — won’t be known until the remains are tested.
The Defense Department, State Department and White House declined to discuss the latest development. The Pentagon would only say that an interagency effort is underway and that President Donald Trump’s agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week cleared the way for the planning for the return of remains.
The transfer of remains is usually done in a somber, formal ceremony, and that is what officials said is being planned. It also wasn’t clear where the ceremony would take place, but it may be at the Demilitarized Zone on the border between North and South Korea.
It’s been more than a decade since North Korea turned over the remains of American troops missing from the Korean War.
Richard Downes, executive director of the Coalition of Families of Korean & Cold War POW/MIAS, said he has since been told the North may have the remains of more than 200 American service members that were likely recovered from land during farming or construction and could be easily returned. But he said the vast majority have yet to be located and retrieved from various cemeteries and battlefields across the countryside.
More than 36,000 U.S. troops died in the conflict, including those listed as missing in action. Close to 7,700 U.S. troops remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.