US war artifacts found in remains from North Korea
August 3, 2018
The US has gotten closer to determining the authenticity of the remains returned by North Korean regime, which are purported to be from American soldiers who died in the Korean War of 1950-53. A US scientist said on Thursday that the remains in the 55 boxes "are consistent with being American."
The bones arrived in the US island of Hawaii on Wednesday, as part of an agreement between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US president Donald Trump when the two met in Singapore in June.
"What we saw were remains that were consistent with what we have found from the Korean War recoveries that we've done over the years," said John E. Byrd, director of the laboratory that is handling the identification procedures.
Byrd cautioned that the analysis is still in its preliminary stage and that a positive identification has not yet been carried out.
But what led Byrd to be optimistic were the war artifacts that came with the bones. Buttons, belts, canteens and boots, all pointed to the remains being from US soldiers, he said. A US identity tag was also recovered and will be presented to relatives in Arlington, Virginia next week.
Read more: Did Trump justify North Korea human rights abuse?
Remains handled with care
North Korean officials provided written information about where the bones had been found, saying that most of the remains in the 55 boxes came from a village called Sinhung-ri, in the northeastern part of the country.
The village is located near the sight of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, which took place in November and December 1950. US and Chinese troops fought there, resulting in thousands of US Marine and Army casualties. An estimated 1,000 Americans went missing.
Read more: Will Trump and Kim hash out 'something like the Iran deal'?
"These are remains associated with the famous battle," Byrd said. Previous uncovered remains of US soldier during the 1990s and early 2000s had also originated from this same location.
Byrd pointed out the great care with which the North Koreans handled the remains, though the actual condition of the bones varied.
"They had been very carefully packaged with padding and packaging that was done to I think a very high standard," Byrd said. "That surprised me a little bit, that they put that kind of care into the effort," he added.
Trump receives letter from Kim
US President Donald Trump thanked the North Korean leader for "keeping his word" and starting the process of sending home the remains, adding that he wasn't "at all surprised" by Kim's "kind action."
The president also thanked Kim for an alleged letter he received from the North Korean leader and said he "looked forward to seeing him soon."
Read more: Trump-Kim Jong Un meeting: How the world reacted
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders confirmed that Trump had received such a letter, but said no second meeting between the two leaders had yet been arranged.
"We have responded to Chairman Kim's letter — the president has — and that letter will be delivered shortly," Sanders told reporters.
The White House spokeswoman did not provide any details on what was in the letters, but said that it "addressed their commitment from their joint statement" in the Singapore summit.
"They're going to continue working together towards complete and total denuclearization," Sanders added.
jcg/rc (AFP, Reuters, AP)