Tag: US military

The 1st Armored Division is the next rotational unit to come to Korea.  The division did not participate in the Korean War and according to the division’s history it made no rotational deployments to Korea either over the years.  So this is likely the first time that the “Old Ironsides” patch will be in Korea:

Tracked vehicles and other equipment for a new U.S. unit on a 9-month rotational mission here will arrive in South Korea next week, the U.S. Eighth Army said Thursday.

The equipment from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division based at Fort Bliss, Texas, will arrive in the country’s southeastern port city of Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, early next week.

The new team is set to replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, which is completing its rotational deployment in support of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, a forward-deployed unit in Korea.

Aside from the equipment, approximately 490 troops of the new team have already arrived. The Eighth Army refused to elaborate on the total number of its personnel.

Unlike previous rotational deployments, the outgoing team will take some of their equipment, including M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, back to the United States, while the new team will bring in some of their own equipment.

In the past, equipment stayed in Korea while rotational troops moved on and off the peninsula.

The exchange of equipment is aimed at ensuring “proper maintenance” and service of the old equipment and aligning deployed forces with current U.S. Army-wide modernization and readiness efforts, the Eighth Army said.

“The noticeable difference this time is the movement of tracked vehicles,” Col. Joseph R. Morrow, the Eighth Army logistics chief, said. “This added complexity gives our soldiers the opportunity to maintain skills in shipping and safely moving large-scale equipment.  [Yonhap]

Remember the happy news the S. Korean NSA brought us a mere two days ago, that Kim Jong Un purportedly did not object to the presence of USFK. So, does this mean KCNA = independent media? Or that Kim, perish the thought, was lying? https://t.co/VPnriRKVqB

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) September 8, 2018

Jenny Jin of the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency speaks in an interview with Yonhap in Washington on Aug. 8, 2018. The forensic scientist of Korean descent is in charge of identifying the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War repatriated by North Korea. (Yonhap)

Via a reader tip comes news of another example of how Asian-Americans continue to grow in importance in American society:

The growth of the Asian-American community since the turn of the century has been reflected in all professional and social areas of life in the U.S., not least the armed forces.

In recent years, Americans of Asian background have been signing up for the military in growing numbers, and, in 2016, they were 28% more likely to be among the officer ranks than they were 12 years earlier.

The change was more pronounced in certain branches of the military than others. The number of Asian-American officers in the army, for example, grew by 41%. That compares with growth of just 4% for ethnic minorities overall and a 3.1% decline among African Americans.  [Nikkei Asian Review]

You can read more at the link.

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.

Here is the latest on the drawn out return of remains from US servicemembers during the Korean War by North Korea:

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]

You can read more at the link.

What is most notable about this is that the Kim regime apparently did not demand bags of cash to make this happen.  It appears to be simply a good will gesture in response to the cancelling of the UFG exercise:

The U.S. military plans to send 215 empty caskets to North Korea via the inter-Korean border on Saturday to get back the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War, a South Korean military official said.About 30 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) vehicles carrying the caskets were scheduled to depart from the Camp Humphreys base in Pyeongtaek for the border village of Panmunjom on Saturday afternoon, the official said on condition of anonymity.

“North Korea will repatriate the remains in the caskets,” the official said.

Recovering and repatriating the remains of U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 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 earlier this month.   [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it is right now undetermined how the remains will be repatriated, but it is expected to happen in the next few days.

Its official, UFG has been suspended:

South Korea and the United States have decided to suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise slated for August, Seoul’s defense ministry said Tuesday, amid dialogue efforts to denuclearize North Korea.

Shortly after his Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to stop “provocative, inappropriate and expensive” war games with the South, which Pyongyang has decried as an invasion rehearsal.

“Following close cooperation, South Korea and the U.S. decided to suspend all planning activities for the UFG, the defensive exercise slated for August,” the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but remember these joint exercises like UFG can be turned right back on if the North Koreans shows signs of not negotiating in good faith.