Remains of US soldiers repatriated from North Korea

North Korea released Friday the remains of what are believed to be US military casualties during the Korean War, the White House said, with a US military plane making a rare trip to South Korea. North to recover 55 remains. The handover follows a promise made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to US President Donald Trump when the leaders met in June and is the first tangible result of the high-profile summit. Trump hailed the repatriation and thanked Kim in a tweet

The United Nations Command stated that 55 cases of remains were recovered in North Korea. The White House has confirmed that a US C-17 Air Force aircraft containing fallen military remains had left Wonsan, a northern coastal town, to travel to Osan Air Force Base at Pyeongtaek, near Seoul, the South Korean capital. An official repatriation ceremony will take place on Wednesday

On the air base, US military and a military honor guard lined up on the tarmac to receive the remains, which were transported in boxes covered with flags UN Blue

Missing Soldiers

About 7,700 American soldiers went missing from the Korean War between 1950 and 1953 and 5,300 of them would still be in North Korea. The war killed millions, including 36,000 American soldiers

. In a statement from United Command, General Vincent K. Brooks, commander of the Korean forces, described the recovery mission as a success. "Now we will prepare to honor our dead before they continue their journey home."

After the honors ceremony Wednesday, the remains will be transported to Hawaii for scientific tests. A series of forensic examinations will be done to determine whether the remains are human and whether the dead were American or Allied troops killed in the conflict.

Trump late Thursday on the repatriation took place and said: "After so many years, this Repatriation could lead to North Korean claims

The North Korean authorities have not commented on the transfer on Friday, the 65th anniversary of the liberation of North Korea The Korean War marked the end of the homeland war

Despite the rhetoric of denuclearization before Kim and Trump meet in Singapore, their summit has ended with a vague, ambitious goal: the Korean peninsula denuclearized without describing when and how it would happen

The repatriation of remnants could be followed by stronger North Korean demands for accelerated talks to formally end the war, which was halted by an armistice and not a peace treaty. The South Korean Defense Ministry also said the North had agreed to general military talks next week in a border village to discuss the reduction of tensions across the heavily armed border of these countries

. built in Seoul were sent to the Korean Border Security Zone as part of the preparations to receive and transport the remains with dignity. Colonel Chad Carroll, spokesman for US forces in Korea, also said at the time that 158 ​​metal transfer crates had been sent to a US air base and that they would be used to return the remains. at home

. ] The remains are believed to be among the more than 200 that North Korea has stored for some time, and have probably been recovered from the land during agriculture or construction. However, the vast majority of war victims still have to be located and recovered in cemeteries and battlefields across the countryside.

Recovery efforts of American soldiers dead for more than a decade The program and a previous US statement that security measures for staff working in the North were inadequate.

From 1996 to 2005, US-North Korean military research teams conducted 33 recovery operations. North Korea's last visit dates back to 2007, when Bill Richardson, former UN ambbadador and governor of New Mexico, got the return of six sets.

The North celebrated the anniversary of Friday with commemorative ceremonies related to the war. the capital Pyongyang and other cities were decorated with national flags and bright red banners. For the first time since 2015, Kim Jong-un announced a general amnesty for prisoners who have committed crimes against the state.

North Korea claimed that the restitution of the remains symbolized his goodwill and his intention to improve ties with Washington. The authorities have, however, inherited criticism from the United States that they seek to take advantage of repatriation by demanding excessive charges for handling and transporting the remains.