Trump thanks Kim for remains return
Mattis: Move step in right direction for peace
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday for “fulfilling a promise” to return the remains of U.S. soldiers missing from the Korean War, as a U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.
Close to 7,700 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.
North Korea’s move signals a positive step in Trump’s diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send U.S. teams into the country to search for additional war dead.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains “is separate” from efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-kim summit in Singapore.
“This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such,” Mattis told reporters Friday. “We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home.”
Trump, addressing reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, said Vice President Mike Pence would greet the families and the remains of the soldiers.
“We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me, and I’m sure that he will continue to fulfill that promise as they search and search and search,” Trump said.
“These incredible American heroes will soon lay at rest on sacred American soil,” he added.
Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said in a statement that he will participate in the ceremony when the remains arrive in the U.S. United Nations Command said the remains will be flown to Hawaii immediately after a full honors ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.
“It is deeply humbling to be part of this historic moment,” Pence said. “We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms.”