Pentagon Sends Coffins, Flags to DMZ to Receive War Remains From North Korea

Remains are being sent back to US through the UN

United Nations officials have confirmed that the US has sent coffins and flags to the Korean demilitarized zone. These transfers came as President Trump announced last week North Korea has begun the process of returning US war dead.

Transfers of war remains are being done by way of the UN. Officials say that the coffins sent by the US are intended to handle around 200 sets of human remains, the same number Trump had previously cited as being returned.

Some 7,700 troops were unaccounted for, and North Korea has returned about 200 other troops in the past several decades. Though there is no specific word on further transfers, comments suggest that what North Korea is doing now is the start of a bigger process of returns.

The Korean War began in 1950, and an armistice was signed in 1953. Despite that, no peace treaty was ever signed ending te war, which is still formally ongoing. North and South Korea have recently discussed signing a peace deal, and the US has supported that plan.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.