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WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 1997 – Remains of another missing Korean War-era U.S. soldier were returned recently to the United States from North Korea.
The joint U.S.-North Korean recovery operation began Oct 4 and was the fourth operation since the summer of 1996. The team excavated in the same area as three previous operations in northwestern North Korea. The remains were flown to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for forensic identification. The Oct. 4 operation was the last scheduled for 1997. Excavated remains of seven soldiers have been found in these four operations. One has been identified and returned with full military honors to his family for burial. More than 8,100 Americans are unaccounted for from the Korean War. Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office led negotiations with North Korea in January 1996 that led to an agreement in the broad areas of joint remains recovery operations and archival reviews. A U.S. team visited the North Korean military museum in Pyongyang in August and returned with copies of documents, identification media and information on captured American equipment and paraphernalia.
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