Remains of 55 U.S. servicemen killed in Korean War returned

On the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, North Korea returned on Friday the remains of what are believed to be 55 U.S. servicemen killed during the conflict. The handover fulfilled a promise North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made to U.S. President Donald Trump when the two met in June in Singapore. A U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve the remains and landed at Osan Air Base near Seoul, where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held Wednesday.

Trump, addressing reporters in Washington, thanked Kim “for keeping his word.” North Korea held out the return of the remains as a symbol of its intention to improve ties with Washington, but earlier this month, talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean officials got off to a rocky start. North Korea accused the Americans of making “unilateral and gangster-like” demands on denuclearization, while many in Washington doubt Kim will ever agree to give up his nuclear weapons program.