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A US Army vehicle flying the UN flag crosses the Imjin River on its way to Panmunjeom on July 15, the day of the North Korea-US talks on the repatriation of US POW/MIA that died during the Korean War. (Yonhap News)
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Working-level talks held in Panmunjeom following general-level meeting
North Korea and the US have agreed to reinitiate the excavation of the remains of US POW/MIA that perished during the Korean War. If excavations are reinitiated, it will be the first time in 13 years since excavations were suspended in 2005 during the George W. Bush administration. The two sides also agreed to hold working-level talks regarding the repatriation of remains already in possession by North Korea on July 16. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announced on July 15, after talks with North Korean officials, that North Korea and the US have agreed to reinitiate field excavations of the estimated 5,300 US soldiers who never returned home from the Korean War. Pompeo did not mention any specific dates or methods regarding the excavation. With the talks being held to implement terms in the agreement reached by the North Korean and US leaders, observers are predicting a positive impact on future improvements in the two sides’ relations and negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue. “Delegations from North Korea and the US met this morning at Panmunjeom’s Joint Security Area (JSA) to discuss the timeline and methods for repatriating the remains of US soldiers who died on North Korean territory during the Korean War,” a foreign affairs source reported that day. The US delegation to the talks was reportedly headed by Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Minihan, who serves as Chief of Staff for the UN Command and US Forces Korea. No details were confirmed on the North Korean delegation, but it is seen as likely to have been headed by a lieutenant or major general of equivalent rank. No immediate information was available on the specific outcome of the talks. The question of additional follow-up talks also remains up in the air. But many are predicting the talks on July 15 mean a greater likelihood the repatriation of US POW/MIA remains will happen soon. “The meeting between North Korea and the US today took place after an agreement in principle on the repatriation of US soldier remains, and my understanding is that the discussions at the talks today focused on the timeline and methods for their return,” the source said. “I don’t think there were any issues that are likely to be particular sources of disagreement between North Korea and the US,” the source added. The US delegation is reportedly scheduled to make an announcement shortly after reporting back home on the talks’ outcome. The July 15 talks came after a revised proposal from North Korea on July 12. The US delegates originally expected the talks to take place on July 12 and went to Panmunjeom to wait for their North Korean counterparts. In a message over the direct line between North Korea and the UN Command, the North Korean side explained that it had “not yet finished preparations” for the remains’ repatriation and proposed meeting on July 12, which the US delegation accepted. At the time, North Korea reportedly proposed to the US that the rank of the senior representatives be raised for the July 15 meeting, making them general officer-level talks between the People’s Army and UN Command. Since unilaterally rejecting the Military Armistice Commission under the armistice system since the early 1990s, North Korea has periodically proposed or agreed to military talks with the UN Command as needed. Sixteen total rounds of general officer-level talks were held between North Korea and the UN Command between 1998 and 2009; none at all had been held in the nine years and four months since Mar. 2009. But the US military stressed that the July 15 talks were different in nature from general officer-level talks between the People’s Army and UN Command. Different from general officer-level talks “When holding general officer-level talks between North Korea and the UN Command, we establish a delegation with representatives from the countries participating in the UN forces, including the US, South Korea, and the UK,” explained a USFK official. “These latest talks were on the issue of repatriating the remains of US POWs and MIAs, so only the US military was participating, and the talks were actually supervised by the US State Department, not the UN Command,” the official added. “So they should be viewed simply as talks between North Korea and the US on the repatriation issue.” Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US government official informed on the situation with the talks was quoted by the Washington Post as calling them “productive,” explaining that while some of the details of the repatriation still needed to be coordinated, an agreement had been reached in general on how to carry out the initial repatriation effort. According to a foreign affairs source, the July 15 talks focused exclusively on the repatriation issue. But some analysts are raising the possibility North Korea may have demanded something in exchange for the remains’ return or asked for general office-level follow-up talks to discuss various related issues, including a declaration ending the Korean War. The repatriation of the remains of US POWs and MIAs were previously agreed upon at a June 12 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. On June 23, USFK accounted the transfer of around 100 wooden cases for temporary transport, UN flags, and coffin stands to the JSA at Panmunjeom for the repatriation effort. By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
