In a diplomatic gesture by strongman Kim Jong-un, North Korea has handed over remains of 55 US troops killed in the Korean War.
The return of the bones of the gallant soldiers was hailed by the White House as a significant step towards the North Korean leader honouring an agreement struck with President Trump in Singapore last month.
A US military aircraft carried the bones from the city of Wonsan to an American base in South Korea this morning. This was 65 years to the day since an armistice brought an end to hostilities.
President Trump said on Twitter :
“After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong-un.”
Caskets draped in UN flags were taken from the US Air Force C17 transport plane by American military personnel after it landed at the Osan air base, 65km south of Seoul. They are to be taken to Hawaii for extensive DNA analysis and other tests before a formal repatriation ceremony at the base on Wednesday.
Over two million people lost their lives in the Korean War of 1950-53. These included 37,000 US troops. About 7,700 are still considered missing, more than half of them in North Korea.
The returned bones would have been found in cemeteries and battlefields scattered across the countryside.
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