White House: U.S. military takes possession of remains
OSAN AIR BASE, SOUTH
KOREA» A U.S. Air Force plane carrying what are thought to be the remains of Americans killed during the Korean War arrived at Osan Air Base in South Korea on Friday morning, the 65th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting.
The Air Force C-17 aircraft departed for the Kalma Airport in the North Korean city of Wonsan before 6 a.m. Friday morning. It returned about 11 a.m., where it was greeted by a crowd of several thousand U.S. servicemen and their families — all American servicemen in South Korea had been invited to the event.
The exchange means that one part of the agreement reached between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12 has been partially fulfilled — albeit more slowly than many had anticipated.
“Today’s actions represent a significant first step to recommence the repatriation of remains from North Korea and to resume field operations in North Korea to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans who have not yet returned home,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday night.
The remains are expected to remain at Osan for a few days for initial testing, before a repatriation ceremony is held Aug. 1 and they are sent on to Hawaii.
Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday that North Korea has accepted 100 wooden transit caskets that it plans to use to return the remains. The U.S. military command in South Korea moved the caskets into the demilitarized zone that splits the Korean Peninsula in late June.
Earlier Thursday, the expected recovery was greeted with cautious optimism by Rick Downes, executive director of a group of families whose loved ones never came home from the Korean War. They have watched discussions in recent weeks with a mixture of hope and cynicism, he said.
“These are poker chips, unfortunately,” said Downes, who runs the Coalition of Families of Korean & Cold War POW/ MIAs. “These guys, these missing men, are still serving. The war still goes on, and they are being negotiated and used as a bargaining tool.”
A U.S. official told The Washington Post last week that North Korea has agreed to hand over about 55 sets of remains. Friday was suggested as a likely date for the repatriation because of its symbolic importance.