Posted on: Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Lab to receive war remains from North Korea

Associated Press

The apparent remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action from the Korean War were flown from North Korea to Japan yesterday.

What officials believe to be eight sets of remains were flown in a C-130 military transport from Pyongyang to Yokota Air Base, said 2nd Lt. Jessica Martin, a U.S. military spokeswoman.

After a repatriation ceremony, the remains were to be transferred to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command forensics laboratory on O'ahu for identification and a final count, she said.

The remains were recovered from two sites in North Korea.

Some remains — believed to be those of U.S. Army soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division who fought against Chinese forces in November and December 1950 — were found near the Chosin Reservoir in the northeastern part of the country, the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command said last week.

Others were recovered from Unsan County, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang, where members of the Army's 1st Cavalry and 25th Infantry divisions fought communist forces in November 1950, the military said.

Since 1996, 27 individual recovery operations have been conducted in North Korea.

Of the 88,000 U.S. servicemen missing in action from all conflicts, more than 8,100 are from the Korean War, about 1,100 of them from the Chosin campaigns.