North Korean artists perform at an event in Pyongyang on July 25, 2018, to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Korean armistice agreement in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Here is an interesting article about one of the seven American civilians that were captured and killed in captivity during the Korean War:
William Evans says his father and namesake was a mining engineer who acted as an adviser to the U.S. military in Seoul when the Korean War broke out. He was captured by the North Koreans and died alongside U.S. soldiers imprisoned by a brutal commander known as “The Tiger.” COURTESY OF WILLIAM EVANS
The list of American civilians lost in North Korea during the 1950-53 war is short. Just seven names, compared with more than 7,000 troops.
But William Evans says the government has a responsibility to try to bring them all home.
His father and namesake was a mining engineer he says acted as an adviser to the U.S. military in Seoul when the Korean War broke out. He was captured by the North Koreans and died alongside U.S. soldiers imprisoned by a brutal commander known as “The Tiger.”
Evans, a 72-year-old retired professor, is hoping his father may be brought home as the hunt for remains gains new attention.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed during his June 12 summit with President Donald Trump to try to recover the war dead, including “the immediate repatriation of those already identified.” (…..)
Less known is a list of seven American civilians who died in the war and were not recovered, including Evans’ father who ended up in a group of more than 700 mostly 24th Infantry Division soldiers commanded by a notorious North Korean officer.
Pfc. Wayne “Johnnie” Johnson, one of just 262 survivors from the so-called “Tiger group,” secretly recorded the names of 496 fellow prisoners who died in captivity.
The “Johnnie Johnson list,” which didn’t become public until the 1990s, recorded the date of death for William H. Evans Sr. as Dec. 12, 1950. He was 55. [Stars & Stripes]
It will be interesting to see how many remains the Kim regime actually returns this week. Previous reports said up to 55 which is quite a large number:
North Korea seems to have completed preparations for the transfer of the remains of American service members killed in the Korean War, as it has received wooden boxes from the United States, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Thursday.
“North Korea recently took two truckloads of wooden boxes to be used for the remains repatriation. It’s expected to hand over the remains on July 27 as agreed upon,” the source said.
On Friday, the two Koreas and the U.S. commemorate the 65th signing anniversary of the Armistice Agreement that ended the three-year conflict.
The U.S.-led United Nations Command had stored the boxes at the border village of Panmunjom for weeks. [Yonhap]
In honor of the 65th anniversary of the Korean War armistice it appears the North Koreans are prepared to hand over a large number of remains:
North Korea has agreed to hand over as many as 55 sets of remains believed to be from American troops killed in the 1950-53 war, and to allow the United States to fly them out of the country next week, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
The preliminary details emerged after U.S. and North Korean officials held working-level talks Monday in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.
The Americans planned to send transit cases via truck to the DMZ, where they would be given to the North Koreans to use for the remains. “They’re going to use our cases for the remains and give them back to us,” the official told Stars and Stripes.
A U.S. delegation was expected to retrieve the remains in North Korea and fly them out on July 27, either to Osan Air Base in South Korea or Hawaii, the official said, adding that the date may change as the two sides planned to iron out final details during another meeting in the near future. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans according to the article are supposedly not asking for anything in return for the remains.
Here is what came out of the general level talks with North Korea on the war remains issue:
The United States and North Korea have agreed to resume searching for the remains of thousands of American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday.
The agreement came at a general-level meeting between the two sides earlier in the day, Pompeo said in a statement. On Monday the two countries will begin working-level talks to coordinate the repatriation of remains already found in the North, he added.
“This meeting was aimed at fulfilling one of the commitments made by Chairman Kim at the Singapore Summit,” Pompeo said in the statement, noting that it was the first general-level talks between the two countries since 2009. “Today’s talks were productive and cooperative and resulted in firm commitments.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if this so called search for remains in North Korea will require cash payments to the Kim regime as they demanded in past searches?
The general level meeting between the US and North Korea over the return of Korean War remains did happen this weekend:
The United States and North Korea held general-level talks for the first time in more than nine years on Sunday to discuss the details of an agreement to repatriate the remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place Thursday, but the North called it off at the last minute, citing a lack of preparations. The North then suggested holding general-level talks with the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) on Sunday, and the U.S. agreed.
Sunday’s talks began around 10 a.m. at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom. Maj. Gen. Michael Minihan, chief of staff for the UNC, led the U.S. side and the North’s delegation included a two-star general, sources said. Further details were not immediately available.
Earlier, three U.S. Forces Korea vehicles arrived at the Tongil Bridge near the border around 8:20 a.m. before putting U.N. flags on them and heading to Panmunjom. It was unclear whether the talks would conclude Sunday or be extended for another day.
Recovering and repatriating the remains of U.S. troops killed during the war was one of the agreements that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached during their historic summit in Singapore last month.
Sunday’s talks were expected to focus on such details as when and how the remains should be transferred. But the North could also demand something in exchange for the return or raise other issues related to the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I think we all know North Korea is not going to hand over these remains out of the goodness of their heart. When dealing with the Kim regime there is a price for everything. These negotiations should determine what the price will be.
I don’t know if the timing of this ceremony is coincidence or not considering ongoing negotiations for the return of Korean War remains, but this ceremony does show the importance of the return of remains to the US military and surviving family members:
A ceremony is held at the Seoul National Cemetery in the capital on July 13, 2018, for the return of remains of Korean and American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War in this press pool photo. The remained were retrieved in North and South Korea, respectively, through a joint search project by the U.S. and the North. (Yonhap)
The United States and South Korea held a ceremony on Friday to return home the remains of two servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said the remains of an unidentified allied soldier, presumably American, found in South Korea in 2016, will be sent to the United States. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has brought to Seoul the remains of a South Korean soldier found in North Korea in 2001 during a joint search between the United States and North Korea.
Friday’s ceremony in Seoul was attended by U.S. Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks, South Korea’s Defense Minister Song Young-moo and relatives of South Korean soldier Yun Gyeong-hyeok, who received his remains. [Washington Post]
Here is the latest on the drawn out return of remains from US servicemembers during the Korean War by North Korea:
Marines of the First Marine Division pay their respects to fallen buddies during memorial services at the division’s cemetery at Hamhung, Korea, following the break-out from Chosin Reservoir, December 13, 1950. Cpl. Uthe. (Marine Corps)
The United States and North Korea have agreed to hold talks Sunday to discuss the repatriation of American troops’ remains from the 1950-53 Korean War, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said.
Heather Nauert said in a statement that the North Koreans proposed the date Thursday after a meeting expected the same day failed to materialize.
“Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol agreed in his dialogue with Secretary Pompeo to have his team meet with an American team in Panmunjom on or around July 12th to move forward with the repatriation of American service members’ remains,” the spokeswoman said. “Mid day July 12th they contacted us and offered to meet on July 15th. We will be ready.” (……….)
About 200 sets of remains are expected to be returned through the inter-Korean border to the United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the cease-fire that ended the Korean War.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said earlier that the UNC would receive the remains, not the South Korean or U.S. militaries alone, because all 21 nations that fought under the U.N. flag alongside South Korea and the U.S. lost troops in the conflict.
There was widespread speculation that Pompeo would return with the remains following his visit to Pyongyang, but that did not happen. Once the remains cross the inter-Korean border, they will be moved to the U.S. air base in Osan, south of Seoul, and then to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for forensic identification.
The level of the meeting Sunday was not immediately known.
North Korea has reportedly proposed holding general-level military talks with the UNC over the repatriation of remains, sources here said Thursday, after it failed to show up at the meeting earlier that day.
With the meeting not taking place, the UNC reportedly made a phone call and North Koreans responded by saying that they needed to upgrade the “level” of the talks.
“North Korea apparently wants a U.S. general to appear at the table to quickly finalize the repatriation issue,” the source said. “It is likely that military generals from the U.S. and North Korea will take part in the meeting.”
The UNC told the U.S. Defense Ministry about North Korea’s proposal and is waiting for Washington’s answer, the source added.
“We have to see the U.S. Defense Ministry’s response, but the UNC reportedly gave a positive signal to North Korea, so there is a good chance of the talks taking place on Sunday,” the source said.
If realized, they will be the first general-level military talks between North Korea and the UNC since March 2009. [Jong Ang Ilbo]
It has now been 68 years since the start of the Korean War:
A solemn ceremony took place in Washington Monday to mark the 68th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, an annual event that carried special meaning as the remains of some of the fallen heroes are set to return home.
The ceremony drew some 200 people to the Korean War Veterans Memorial as the United States and North Korea are in talks to formally end the 1950-53 conflict that ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. [Yonhap]
Here is a cool quote from the article:
Paul Cunningham, president of the Korean War Veterans Association, delivers opening remarks at a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on June 25, 2018. (Yonhap)
Cunningham, 88, said he served as a radar repairman with the Air Force during the war. He now drives an Amanti built by South Korea’s Kia.
“It is one of the finer cars that I have driven in the course of my lifetime, but when I left Korea in February of 1952 the last thing in my mind was that I would ever be driving a vehicle manufactured in this country because what I saw there was ashes and rubble,” he told Yonhap. “It’s very gratifying to us to see what’s been made of the economy — the 10th strongest economy in the world — and that’s very commendable.”
