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REMAINS OF U.S. SOLDIERS FROM NORTH KOREA ARRIVE

IN SOUTH KOREA -- The remains of six U.S. soldiers killed

in the Korean War were transported to Seoul.

 

 

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Remains of U.S. soldiers from Korean War arrive in S. Korea

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were transported to South Korea on Wednesday via the heavily fortified demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, officials at the United Nations Command (UNC) said.

The first repatriation of American soldiers' remains from the North in two years represents yet another sign of a thaw in relations between Pyongyang and Washington following a landmark nuclear deal in February.

A U.S. delegation led by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson crossed the border first and six boxes carrying the remains were handed over to the U.S.-led U.N. forces at the truce village of Panmunjom, according to the UNC, which monitors the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula and oversees such exchanges.

U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow and Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant, the UNC's deputy chief of staff, oversaw the transfer at Panmunjom, the UNC said. The UNC did not allow local media coverage of the event, citing its agreement with North Korea not to do so.

"Hopefully, we've done our bit to relieve the tension between our two countries," Richardson was quoted as saying after crossing the border, referring to the U.S. and the North.

Richardson, a U.S. presidential hopeful, said earlier the transfer of the remains is a positive gesture amid improving bilateral ties after the deal in which North Korea agreed to shut down its main nuclear facilities by this weekend.

The governor was to meet with senior South Korean officials handling the North Korean nuclear issue later Wednesday to brief them on the results of his latest visit to Pyongyang, which was joined by the White House's adviser on Korea, Victor Cha.

The UNC also said it plans to hold a ceremony at a U.S. base in Seoul for the repatriation on Thursday.

It said the event will be attended by Richardson as well as Anthony Principi, a former secretary of veteran affairs under U.S. President George W. Bush, and Gen. B.B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea and the UNC, among others.

The recovery of U.S. soldiers' remains has become a rather political event, as it has been linked to the development of the North Korean nuclear crisis.

The U.S. dispatched more than 137,000 soldiers to help South Korea fight against the invading North during the war, with about 36,000 killed and 92,000 injured. More than 8,100 American troops remain unaccounted for.

North Korea first returned the remains of several thousand U.S. personnel in 1954 through its unilateral excavation works.

In 1994, North Korea accepted former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's proposal to conduct joint field activities to retrieve the remains.

North Korea and the U.S. recovered a total of 229 sets of remains of U.S. soldiers from 1996 till 2005, when Washington withdrew its recovery teams from the North, citing security concerns after Pyongyang blocked satellite communication channels amid escalated tensions on the nuclear issue.

lcd@yna.co.kr

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Larry Scott  --