The Pentagon said Thursday it is negotiating a possible summit with North Korean officials to discuss the further recovery of U.S. troop remains from the Korean War.
The negotiations are aimed at restarting U.S. recovery field operations in the North that were canceled in 2012 due to the regime’s nuclear testing, said Kelly McKeague, the director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
“They want to sit down with us, we’ve yet to work out the details and receive any kind of confirmation from them on when and where,” McKeague said at a breakfast meeting with reporters.
The talks, which could occur in a neutral third country, were greenlighted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and are separate and distinct from the Trump administration’s negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
In July, the North turned over 55 boxes of what are believed to be the remains of U.S. troops. McKeague said the White House was set to release the names on Thursday or Friday of two troops who have been identified so far.
North Korea has already proposed an agreement and reimbursement levels for field operations, which entail Pentagon recovery teams working and excavating inside the reclusive totalitarian state.
McKeague called the offer “out of sorts” and said the North is requesting an unreasonable amount for payments, which would include reimbursement for the use of eight of its ambulances.
“Our counterproposal will say that is not reasonable,” he said. “Once we are able to commit to a counterproposal that would be the basis for sitting down with the North Koreans.”
