U.S.-North Korea Strike New Arrangements on MIA Operations

[travisab1]

Thought you might want to know this so I'm passing it on;



NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 101-04
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb 12, 2004
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

U.S.-North Korea Strike New Arrangements on MIA Operations


U.S. and North Korean negotiators agreed Wednesday to improve markedly
several areas of cooperation in operations to recover the remains of American
soldiers missing in action from the Korean War.


During talks in Bangkok, Thailand, both sides agreed to resume
repatriating remains recovered during joint recovery operations in North Korea
across the demilitarized zone at Panmunjom. This practice has not occurred since
1999. U.S. team members will accompany the remains into South Korea.
Additionally, supplies and equipment for the 2004 operations will be moved by
ground transportation across the DMZ.


?I am encouraged by the level of cooperation the North Koreans
demonstrated during these talks,? said Jerry D. Jennings, deputy assistant
secretary of defense for POW/missing personnel affairs. ?We accomplished much at
no additional cost to the U.S. government, and these new procedures will streamline
the process of getting our teams in and out of North Korea, and bringing our fallen
heroes back home to their families.?


Jennings led Wednesday?s talks, as well as those in November, where
broad terms were set for five recovery operations and a period of unilateral and
joint investigations prior to the excavations. The five operations will be
centered in the areas of Unsan County, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang, and near
the Chosin Reservoir in the northeast part of North Korea.


For the first time, the North Korean side also agreed to present to
their senior leaders a proposal to establish a single point of contact to resolve
reports of Americans living in North Korea. In the past, the North Koreans refused
to even broach the subject denying that any Americans missing from the Korean War
are still alive in the North. ?This doesn?t resolve the live sighting issue in
North Korea, but at least this time they agreed to discuss it and consider our
request,? said Jennings.


Since the United States has conducted remains recovery operations in
North Korea every year since 1996, more than 180 sets of remains believed to be
those of American soldiers have been recovered. More than 8,100 are still missing
in action from the Korean War.


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Some things may be looking up.



Travis