North Korea returns US war remains


North Korea has returned remains believed to be of US troops killed during the Korean War, the latest move in the cautious diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang.

Troops formed an honour guard as the plane carrying the remains touched down at a US base in South Korea.

Relatives have waited years to retrieve the remains of their loved ones.

The repatriation was agreed at the June summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

The summit in Singapore, where the leaders agreed to work towards the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula", has been criticised for a lack of details on when or how Pyongyang would renounce nuclear weapons.

But the return of US remains was one of four points actually listed in that June declaration and comes on the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War.

It is believed that 55 soldiers have been returned this time but their remains will need to be forensically tested to ensure they are indeed slain US troops - it's possible that the identification process could take years.

A US military aircraft took the remains to the US base at Osan in South Korea where, according to the White House, a repatriation ceremony will be held on 1 August after some initial testing.

The remains will then be brought to the US to undergo thorough forensic testing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Remains of American Servicemen will soon be leaving North Korea and heading to the United States! After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1022690767305928704?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">27 July 2018</a></blockquote>
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The White House said it was "a solemn obligation of the United States Government to ensure that the remains are handled with dignity and properly accounted for so their families receive them in an honorable manner".

The 12 June summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un saw both sides speak with ambition about concrete steps to improve relations but experts have cast doubt on whether Pyongyang is genuine in its apparent commitment to "denuclearise".

Last week North Korea appeared to begin dismantling part of a key rocket launch site but there have been reports it secretly continues its weapons programme. Meanwhile, Pyongyang has accused the US of "gangster-like" tactics.

There's also been little clarity about what exactly the two sides mean by "complete denuclearisation" and no details on a timeline for this to take place.

Nevertheless, Friday's repatriation will likely be seen as a concrete goodwill gesture after years of efforts by relatives and US authorities to retrieve the remains.

SOURCE: BBC News
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