The United States remains fully committed to locate and repatriate the remains of U.S. service members killed during the Korean War, a U.S. military official said Friday, noting there are approximately 5,200 U.S. soldiers missing in action in North Korea.
The official from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), however, said the North currently remains unresponsive to U.S. efforts.
“The United States remains committed to the fullest possible accounting of our missing personnel for their families and our nation. This includes the more than 7,500 unaccounted from the Korean War, 5,200 of whom were lost in North Korea,” the DPAA official said to a related question raised during a Pentagon press briefing the previous day.
“Unfortunately, our multiple attempts to work with North Korea on this important humanitarian issue have been met without reciprocal action since the turnover of 55 boxes of remains in July 2018, from which 82 Americans have been identified to date,” the official added in a released statement.
Pyongyang remains unresponsive to all U.S. overtures for dialogue since the Joe Biden administration took office in January 2021.
The country has also avoided talks with the U.S. since late 2019.
The DPAA official said the U.S. is ready to resume working with North Korea to repatriate the remains of U.S. service members from the 1950-53 war.
“The U.S. Department of Defense has accounted for more than 600 from the Korean War and is ready to resume the repatriation and recovery of remains from North Korea when the situation allows,” the official said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency