Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 2 augusT 2018
Pence-led service marks arrival of presumed Korean War dead

By AUDREY McAVOY and and brothers were laid to ment made to one another The repatriation is a break- Trump thanked Kim for the
KIM YONG-HO rest, Hanwell Kaakimaka before going into battle, through in a long-stalled return.
HONOLULU (AP) — De- said. and passed on from one U.S. effort to obtain war re- During the summit, Kim also
cades after the end of the The Kaakimaka family pro- generation of warriors to mains from North Korea. agreed to "work toward
Korean War in 1953, the complete denuclearization
remains of dozens of pre- of the Korean Peninsula"
sumed U.S. war dead were in return for Trump's prom-
on their way Wednesday ise of security guarantees.
to Hawaii for analysis and Trump later suspended an-
identification. The U.S. mili- nual military drills with South
tary believes the bones are Korea which North Korea
those of U.S. servicemen had long called an inva-
and potentially servicemen sion rehearsal.
from other United Nations But Trump now faces criti-
member countries who cism at home and else-
fought alongside the U.S. where that North Korea
on behalf of South Korea hasn't taken any serious
during the war. steps toward disarmament
U.S. Vice President Mike and may be trying to buy
Pence and the command- time to weaken interna-
er of U.S. forces in Asia, tional sanctions against it.
Adm. Phil Davidson, were North Korea halted nuclear
expected to speak at a and missile tests, shut down
ceremony marking the ar- its nuclear testing site and
rival of the remains on U.S. began dismantling facilities
soil and the beginning of a at its rocket launch site. But
long process to identify the many experts say those are
bones. They met ahead of neither irrevocable nor seri-
the formal ceremony. ous steps that could show
North Korea handed over the country is sincere about
the remains last week. A denuclearization.
U.S. military plane made a A U.S. soldier salutes during a repatriation ceremony for the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the North Korea may want to
rare trip into North Korea to Korean War and collected in North Korea, at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, use the remains' return to
retrieve the 55 cases. Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Associated Press keep diplomacy with the
About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are United States alive and win
listed as missing from the a reciprocal U.S. conces-
1950-53 Korean War and vided DNA samples to the the next," Vincent Brooks, There are 7,699 U.S. service sion. Experts say the North
about 5,300 of the remains U.S. military's Defense POW/ chief of the U.S. military members listed as unac- likely wants a declaration
are believed to still be in MIA Accounting Agency in South Korea, said in a counted for from the 1950- of the end of the Korean
North Korea. over a decade ago, hop- speech. 53 Korean War, of which War as part of U.S. security
Hanwell Kaakimaka's un- ing officials would be able The remains were then about 5,300 are believed assurances.
cle, John Kaakimaka, is to make a match. moved in gray vans to an to have died on North Ko- An armistice that ended
among those who never The agency identifies re- airfield where U.S. and rean soil. There remainder the Korean War has yet to
came home. mains of servicemen killed South Korean soldiers load- are those who died in South be replaced with a peace
"We've been watching the in past conflicts. It typically ed them one by one into Korea but have not been treaty, leaving the penin-
news, and we've been uses bones, teeth and DNA two transport planes. Four recovered; those who died sula in a technical state
hopeful that my uncle is to identify remains along U.S. fighter jets flew low in a in air crashes at sea or on of war. North Korea has
among the remains," he with any items that may tribute. ships at sea, as well as a steadfastly argued its nu-
said, adding that it could have been found with re- U.S. Defense Secretary Jim number who are believed clear weapons are meant
bring his family some clo- mains like uniforms, dog Mattis said last week that to have been taken to Chi- to neutralize alleged U.S.
sure. tags and wedding rings. the return of the 55 boxes na. plans to attack it.
His uncle, who was from But North Korea only pro- was a positive step but "The remains received from Efforts to recover remains
Honolulu, was a corporal in vided one dog tag with the not a guarantee that the North Korea are being han- in North Korea have been
the 31st Infantry Regiment 55 boxes it handed over bones are American. dled with the utmost care fraught with political and
of the Army's 7th Infantry last week. A U.S. defense official said and respect by profession- other obstacles since the
Division. He went missing on Before the remains were put Tuesday that it probably al historians, forensic scien- war's end. Between 1990
or about Dec. 2, 1950. on military planes bound will take months if not years tists, uniformed personnel and 1994, North Korea uni-
Hanwell Kaakimaka said for Hawaii, hundreds of U.S. to fully determine individual and government officials," laterally handed over 208
the story he heard from and South Korean troops identities from the remains. the U.S.-led U.N. Command caskets to the U.S., which
his dad was that his uncle gathered at a hanger at The official, who discussed said in a statement. It said turned out to contain re-
was injured and was be- the Osan base in South previously undisclosed as- it "never leaves troops be- mains of far more than 208
ing brought back from the Korean for the repatriation pects of the remains issue hind, living or deceased, individuals, although foren-
front when Chinese troops ceremony, which included on condition of anonym- and will continue the mis- sics specialists thus far have
overran the area and at- a silent tribute, a rifle salute ity, also said North Korea sion of repatriation until ev- established 181 identities.
tacked the convoy. and the playing of the U.S. provided a single military ery service member returns A series of U.S.-North Kore-
If John Kaakimaka's re- and South Korean national dog tag along with the re- home." an recovery efforts, termed
mains are ever identified, anthems and dirges in front mains. The official did not The bones' return was part "joint field activities," be-
his family wants him to be of the U.N. flag-covered know details about the of an agreement reached tween 1996 and 2005 yield-
buried in a cemetery at metal cases containing the single dog tag, including during a June summit be- ed 229 caskets of remains,
the base of Diamond Head remains. the name on it or whether it tween U.S. President Don- of which 153 have been
crater in Honolulu because "For the warrior, this is a was even that of an Ameri- ald Trump and North Ko- identified, according to the
that's where his parents cherished duty, a commit- can military member. rean leader Kim Jong Un. Pentagon.q