The remains of dead American soldiers in North Korea begin their journey back after 65 years, News from East Asia and Top Stories

PYEONGTAEK, SOUTH KOREA (NYTIMES) – The remains of 55 US servicemen were expelled from North Korea on Friday (July 27th), the first visible result of President Donald Trump's efforts to bring the war home to the states. -United. years after the end of the fighting in the Korean War.

A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo plane carrying the remains landed at Osan Air Force Base south of Seoul, the South Korean capital.

Hundreds of United States. members of the service as well as a military honor guard lined up on the tarmac to mark the return of the fallen troops.

While the guard of honor and the members of the service stood at attention, 55 small coffins containing the remains were transported individually from the aircraft by soldiers dressed in uniform and loaded into the aircraft. six vans.

Each of the boxes was wrapped in the UN flag, the flag that US troops fought during the Korean War.

From Osan Air Base, the remains will be transferred to the Hawaii-based POW / MIA Defense Accounting Agency, where forensic work will be done to identify them.

The remains that were returned from North Korea in the past were mixed with those of unidentified people and even animals.

Fighting in the Korean War was halted with an armistice signed 65 years ago on Friday. But thousands of US soldiers killed in North Korea have not been fired because the war has never been formally concluded with a peace treaty and because North Korea and the United States are missing diplomatic links.

The stolen remains on Friday were the first since a joint effort by US military experts and North Korean workers between 1996 and 2005.

The group collected the remains of what would have been 220 US soldiers.

Since then, the Pentagon's efforts to bring the war back home have been overshadowed by tensions over the North's nuclear weapons program.

A breakthrough came when Trump held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.

More than 36,000 American soldiers died in the Korean War. Of these, about 7,700 are still missing, including 5,300 in the North.

million. Trump thanked Mr. Kim in a tweet for the return of the remains. "The remains of the US military will soon leave North Korea and head for the United States!" After so many years, it will be a great moment for so many families, thanks to Kim Jong Un, "he writes.