US and North Korea join search to find MIAs
The US and North Korea have resumed a joint-search for the remains of American soldiers missing in action during the 1950-53 Korean War, the Pentagon said.
This week’s recovery mission comes despite heightened tensions between the former adversaries over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Both countries have agreed to keep the remains issue separate from the nuclear problem, which is being addressed in six-nation regional talks.
In late 2003, US and North Korean negotiators scheduled five recovery operations for this year in Unsan County and near the Chosin Reservoir, the US Defence Department said in a news release.
More than 8,100 American troops remain missing from the Korean War, including around 1,100 from the Chosin campaign.
The US army’s 7th Infantry Division fought fierce battles with Chinese forces near the reservoir in November and December 1950.
Members of the 1st Cavalry and 25th Infantry divisions fought in Unsan County in November 1950.
This year, recovery work will be split between the two sites. Twenty-eight US team members will join their North Korean counterparts for 30-day operations between April and October.
The teams have recovered 180 remains since starting the joint searches in 1996. In the most recent search, last October, eight sets of remains from the Chosin and Unsan areas were repatriated to the US.
