North Korea Returns Remains of Several American Soldiers

The White House stated on Thursday, July 25, that North Korea has returned the remains of several American soldiers who were killed during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, agreed during their meeting in Singapore in June to return the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War to the United States. According to Reuters, the White House announced in a statement: 'Today (Kim Jong Un) fulfilled part of his commitment to the President (of the United States) to return the remains of American soldiers.' The White House welcomed this action as a positive change. The statement said that a U.S. military aircraft flew to Wonsan in North Korea to transport these remains. Hours later, television networks broadcast images of the transfer of the remains of these soldiers to Osan Air Base in South Korea. According to the White House, an official ceremony regarding this matter will be held on Wednesday in 'Osan.' Previously, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, had announced the transfer of these remains. American and North Korean military officials met two weeks ago at the border between North and South Korea and discussed this issue. Reuters reports that senior military officials from the U.S. and North Korea met and negotiated for the first time in nine years. The two sides agreed to form a joint recovery team to find the remains of American soldiers who were killed in the Korean War. Reuters states that there is no information about the fate of more than 7,700 American soldiers who fought in the Korean War, and about 5,300 of them are missing in what is now known as North Korea.