Talks between top ranking officials from the U.S. and North Korea over returning the remains of American troops who died during the Korean War resumed Sunday, marking the first time discussions between the two countries have taken place at the general officer level since 2009.
“This meeting was aimed at fulfilling one of the commitments made by Chairman Kim at the Singapore Summit,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, referring to the four-point joint statement signed by President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June in Singapore. “Today’s talks were productive and cooperative and resulted in firm commitments.”
Pompeo added that the search for the remains of about 5,300 missing U.S. service personnel would recommence and more meetings would be held on Monday to address how to bring the remains that have already been recovered home.
Talks on the same topic were supposed to happen on Friday with aides from the Department of Defense and the United Nations, but North Korean officials never showed up at the designated meeting spot in the Demilitarized Zone with their southern neighbor. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry then released a statement saying that the rogue nation wanted to move the date to July 15.
The rescheduling follows North Korea criticizing Pompeo for making “gangster-like” demands for denuclearization during his third visit to the country.
According to the Washington Post, the U.S. military expects the remains of around 55 service members to be sent from North Korea sometime over the two weeks.
However, an anonymous official warned the outlet that the timing and number of service members remains could change due to technical challenges.
