The nation of North Korea has returned the remains of 55 fallen American soldiers who had fallen or gone missing during the Korean War of the previous century according to the BBC . Arriving first at the U.S. operated Osan air base in South Korea, small crates containing the remains were delivered draped in the stars and stripes and received with due care and diligence given the gravitas of the moment.
This repatriation offer conceded by North Korea is the first step in an ongoing peace process being negotiated between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a cautious but positive enterprise that seems to be proceeding well up to this point.
Some relatives expressed their happiness with the repatriation ahead of the delivery to the BBC, with one serviceman’s daughter stating to reporters, “It’s hard to live your life not knowing what happened to your loved one.”
The return of the remains was one of four listed items in the June declaration of peace signed by both countries according to the text provided by CNBC , meaning that Kim Jong Un has met one of his obligations to the treaty and that President Trump has scored at least one diplomatic victory on this matter.
Naysayers of the move, including the founder of the Korean War Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Network John Zimmerlee, state that there is no way of guaranteeing that the provided remains are legitimately those of fallen American soldiers. Pointing out that the bodies could belong to those simply identified as enemies of the North Korean regime at that time, Zimmerlee says that they could be “British, they could be Australians, Belgians — could be a lot of different people.”
Nonetheless, the armed forces members receiving the repatriated remains were stoic and grave in their reception of what was left of their fallen brothers. Steely faced and impeccable in their rituals, soldiers with white gloves and their dress uniforms conducted the ceremony with a stately grace and straight backs according to Reuters .
Following the formal repatriation ceremony, the remains will be flown to Hawaii for proper processing under the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency according to UN Command in a prepared public statement.
Trump took to his famous platform on social media outlet Twitter to thank Kim Jong Un for his delivery, as promised, of the American remains.
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018
Peace moves forward, albeit slowly. Pyongyang has put some muscle behind renewed efforts calling for a formal declaration ending the Korean War that divided North Korea and South Korea in a bitter and bloody conflict throughout 1950 — 1953.
The two Koreas have agreed to General level talks this coming Tuesday to discuss plans to implement their own summit to move towards an end to the cold war between them, with South Korea already having agreed to reduce their military personnel by 2020 and North Korea signing on to a family reunion program as previously reported by The Inquisitr .
