Posted on: Wednesday, August 22, 2001

Korean War repatriation delayed

Advertiser Staff

The expected return today of the remains of nine Korean War veterans has been postponed until Friday, military officials said.

The remains were recovered in Kujang and Kaechon counties of southern Pyongan Province in North Korea. They were scheduled to arrive today at Hickam Air Force Base, but the flight was delayed because of bad weather.

The repatriation, which is open to family members and veterans with prior approval, has been rescheduled to 9 a.m. Friday.

Once the remains are in Hawai'i, anthropologists and odontologists will seek to identify them through DNA samples and other forensic techniques, a process that could take years.

Two teams from the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawai'i recovered the remains. The recovery operation was the laboratory's third in North Korea this year.