U.S. suspends recovery of missing troop remains in North Korea
FILE - In this July 10, 1950 back-and-white file photo, American GIs fire a 105 Howitzer gun in action against North Korean invaders somewhere in Korea. The US said Wednesday it is suspending efforts to recover remains of thousands of fallen service members in North Korea, the latest sign that a recent thaw in relations is over. The U.S. was in the process of resuming the hunt for remains missing from the 1950-53 Korean War that had been on hold since 2005, the only form of cooperation between the two militaries. (AP Photo, File)
A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team from Hawaii won’t be heading to North Korea this month to recover missing U.S. service member remains with the Pentagon suspending the effort in the face of a possible North Korean missile test.
Nearly 30 JPAC members were to travel to North Korea in the first return to the secretive nation since 2005, when the Bush administration suspended the searches over the North’s unwillingness to negotiate over its nuclear program.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said the U.S. hopes to re-engage with North Korea on the remains recovery effort.
"But when there are suggestions that they might launch ballistic missiles, when they make bellicose statements about South Korea and engage in actions that could be construed as provocative, we think that it’s not the right time to undertake this effort," Little said today during a press briefing in Washington D.C. "So we’re hopeful that we will get past this period and that we can continue the remains recovery effort."
Recovery teams were expected to make two trips to North Korea in the spring, and two in the fall.
JPAC, which is located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and has responsibility for investigating, recovering and identifying U.S. service members missing from past wars, referred questions to the Pentagon.
The recovery mission suspension is sure to be seen as a disappointment to the families of missing Korean War vets who want progress on recovery efforts from the 1950-53 war.
A total of 7,965 U.S. service members are missing from the war, with 5,500 believed to be in North Korea, according to JPAC.
