A U.S. military plane flew to North Korea and returned with the remains of U.S. service members killed in the Korean War more than six decades ago, the White House press secretary confirmed in a statement late Thursday.
“A U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft containing remains of fallen service members has departed Wonsan, North Korea,” the White House statement said. “It is accompanied by service members from United Nations Command Korea and technical experts from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The C-17 is transferring the remains to Osan Air Base (near Seoul), where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on August 1.”
The plane landed in South Korea early Friday morning with 55 cases of remains returned by North Korea.
“It was a successful mission following extensive coordination,” said United Nations Command and United States Forces Korea Commander General Vincent K. Brooks. “Now, we will prepare to honor our fallen before they continue on their journey home.”
Immediately after the August 1 ceremony, the remains will be flown to Hawaii for further processing under the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing a South Korean diplomatic source, earlier had reported that North Korea recently received two truckloads of wooden boxes from U.S. officials.
Friday marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war that split the communist North and the democratic South.
“The United States owes a profound debt of gratitude to those American service members who gave their lives in service to their country and we are working diligently to bring them home. It is 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 White House statement said.
The transfer begins to fulfill an agreement made last month between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump during their historic meeting in Singapore in June.
About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are listed as missing from the Korean War, and 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea. Voice of America
