"5,300 Remains Still Buried in North Korea"... U.S. Moves to Resume Korean War Joint Excavation

Four joint excavation missions per year in North Pyongan and South Hamgyong
Hopes rise for rekindling long-stalled U.S.-North Korea communication
Only actual excavation costs to be reimbursed

The U.S. government has reported to the White House on a plan to resume joint excavation work for the remains of U.S. soldiers left in North Korea from the Korean War.

Dr. Jenny Jin, a Korean-American forensic anthropologist, is conducting detailed examination work to identify the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War who were repatriated from North Korea at a laboratory under the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) located in Hawaii. VOA

According to Voice of America (VOA) on September 1, Kelly McKeague, Director of the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), stated at a National Committee on North Korea (NCNK) event on August 31 that he presented to the White House a plan for a joint excavation of remains with North Korea that could be implemented immediately if dialogue between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea resumed.

Will a Trump-Kim Jong Un Summit Be Realized?

This proposal comes at a time when President Donald Trump has publicly raised the possibility of meeting Chairman Kim Jong Un within the year. President Trump has emphasized his personal relationship with Kim Jong Un and has made moves to foster a dialogue-friendly environment, such as reducing or canceling joint military exercises with South Korea in response to North Korea’s objections.

The two leaders have met three times in the past: the 2018 Singapore Summit, the February 2019 Hanoi Summit, and their June 2019 meeting at Panmunjom. Should a new summit actually take place, this would mark their fourth encounter. While the White House has not confirmed either a U.S.–North Korea summit or the excavation effort, there is keen attention on whether behind-the-scenes contact will ultimately lead to negotiations.

Director McKeague emphasized that “This initiative to recover the remains of fallen soldiers could serve as an opportunity to open up long-shut channels of communication between the U.S. and North Korea.” He explained that if the two countries begin cooperation on a humanitarian basis without preconditions, it could ease geopolitical tensions and serve as a breakthrough toward broader dialogue.

Resuming Excavations in North Pyongan and South Hamgyong Provinces Using Previous Methods

A U.S. soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery in 2012. The remains of this U.S. soldier, who died in the Korean War, were excavated and repatriated in 1950, but the identity was confirmed only in 2011. BBC

He went on to explain that North Korea has already become accustomed to previous methods and that specific field plans were developed based on those procedures. The plan calls for sending excavation teams to Unsan in North Pyongan Province and Changjin in South Hamgyong Province, with four operations per year, each lasting 45 days.

The two countries previously confirmed the identities of 153 individuals through 37 rounds of joint excavations between 1996 and 2005. Another 113 individuals have been identified from the remains recovered from the 55 boxes sent by North Korea at the 2018 Singapore Summit. However, the last face-to-face encounter with North Korea ended in March 2019.

He also pointed out that North Korea is a seasoned negotiating partner, predicting that the negotiation process will not proceed smoothly. He made it clear that even if the joint excavation restarts, there would be no payment for the remains themselves, but only for the actual expenses incurred in the field excavation process.

According to the National Committee on North Korea, the excavation of remains is one of the few issues on which North Korea is willing to cooperate, even during periods of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula. The DPAA estimates that the remains of about 5,300 U.S. soldiers who fought in the Korean War remain in North Korea.

South Korea and the U.S. Continue Recovery of Fallen Soldiers

Australian soldiers who participated in the Korean War. Sydney Korean Cultural Center

Meanwhile, South Korea is also continuing to cooperate with other countries in the recovery of foreign soldiers’ remains. On August 8, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs signed an international veterans cooperation memorandum of understanding in Omaha, Nebraska, with the DPAA to strengthen honors for U.S. veterans of the Korean War and support for their families.

The Ministry of National Defense’s remains excavation and identification team has also been conducting regional family outreach projects every six months since 2021. In April, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong involving Commonwealth forces, it was agreed to conduct a joint remains excavation with Australia.

William K. Murphy, Corporal, Department of Defense

The individual sought by the joint excavation team is Corporal William K. Murphy of the Royal Australian Regiment, who went missing during the Battle of Kapyong in April 1951. He is the only Australian soldier classified as missing whose remains can potentially be recovered in South Korea from among those not yet recovered since the Korean War.

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, approximately 1.78 million U.S. soldiers participated in the Korean War; of these, about 36,500 were killed, and the number of missing whose remains have yet to be recovered stands at about 7,300.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.