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North Korea says it is resuming repatriation of US remains
Seoul, Feb 21: North Korea on Saturday confirmed it had agreed to resume repatriating the remains of American war dead across the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas for the first time in more than five years.
Seoul, Feb 21: North Korea on Saturday confirmed it had agreed to resume repatriating the remains of American war dead across the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas for the first time in more than five years.
The Communist state will allow the United States to transport the remains overland across the border, a spokesman of the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People's Army was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency. The agreement was reached at bilateral talks on the issue of the remains of US soldiers which took place in Bangkok on February 11. "At the talks the DPRK (North Korea) side did not meet the requests of the US side to transport the equipment and materials to be used for excavation and remains by its military transport plane for security reasons but allowed its overland transport of them via Panmunjom," the spokesman said. Panmunjom is a village which was destroyed in the war but gained lasting fame as the site where the 1953 Korean War armistice agreement was negotiated. Also known as the joint security area, Panmunjom is on the inter-Korean border which runs along the 38th parallel. Since the end of the war, Panmunjom has been the venue for inter-Korean talks and contacts between North Korean and US military officials. North Korea also flatly rejected US requests to discuss the issue of American survivors, the spokesman said. "The US is misleading the public opinion by asserting that the talks served as a platform where its unilateral demand was met," the spokesman said. Bureau Report
The Communist state will allow the United States to transport the remains overland across the border, a spokesman of the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People's Army was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency. The agreement was reached at bilateral talks on the issue of the remains of US soldiers which took place in Bangkok on February 11. "At the talks the DPRK (North Korea) side did not meet the requests of the US side to transport the equipment and materials to be used for excavation and remains by its military transport plane for security reasons but allowed its overland transport of them via Panmunjom," the spokesman said. Panmunjom is a village which was destroyed in the war but gained lasting fame as the site where the 1953 Korean War armistice agreement was negotiated. Also known as the joint security area, Panmunjom is on the inter-Korean border which runs along the 38th parallel. Since the end of the war, Panmunjom has been the venue for inter-Korean talks and contacts between North Korean and US military officials. North Korea also flatly rejected US requests to discuss the issue of American survivors, the spokesman said. "The US is misleading the public opinion by asserting that the talks served as a platform where its unilateral demand was met," the spokesman said. Bureau Report