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Noon in Korea @NoonInKorea
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Negotiations re transferring remains of MIA & POW US soldiers are ongoing today at T3 meeting house in Panmunjom. Delegations from the UN Command (for the US) and NK are meeting to resolve procedural issues while 100+ caskets await transfer to NK
yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2018/…
Again this is to carry out the 4th bullet of the joint statement, which was thought to be a low-hanging fruit to be fulfilled quickly to induce cooperation in other areas. But it's been more than a month since the Singapore summit and some 100-200 caskets are still waiting at JSA
SK analysts wonder whether negotiations stalled due to issue of payment. Per HR 757 that passed in 2016, reimbursing NK for the cost of transferring PoW-MiA is one exception to the sanctions in place. It hasn't been revealed whether NK will be paid or not
hani.co.kr/arti/politics/…
The specific US agency in charge of securing remains is Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). As a matter of policy, DPAA doesn't pay for the remains but has the right to compensate for the expenses incurred while excavating & transferring the remains
news.joins.com/article/227437…
Per Chosun, from 1990 to 2005, the US received 629 remains from NK of which 339 remains were identified. NK was reimbursed $22 million. That would be ~$65k in "reimbursement" per identified remains. DPAA declined to comment on reimbursements at this time
news.chosun.com/site/data/html…
Per Kelly McKeague who heads DPAA, the meeting today would hopefully lead to an agreement to plan for further excavations of US remains at locations in NK. But the window is closing for this year as the ground hardens after September and August is rainy
reut.rs/2N8QbNl
But the flip side is that NK's cold weather preserves the remains (unlike Vietnam). Plus NK's lack of economic development and urbanization means that industrial structures like roads, dams and buildings don't end up covering or obstructing the remains, as is often the case in SK
That's what McKeague is hoping: have joint excavation trips at places like the Chosin Reservoir where US soldiers fought outnumbered by Chinese forces. Or other battlefields, PoW camps and aircraft crash sites. Some 5,300 US soldiers are still MIA in NK
haaretz.com/us-news/u-s-ma…
and 1,000+ still MIA in SK largely due to industrial structures obstructing excavation. Usually these trips to NK are carefully planned and DPAA's team includes a forensic anthropologist. They're trained to avoid getting into arguments with NK excavators
koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20…
Even if the negotiations go well and DPAA gets NK to agree to more excavations, it'll likely take years to transfer and identify the remaining US remains. Occasionally SK remains end up in the mix as there're way more SK MIAs from the Korean War: 350,000
washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli…
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