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\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat was supposed to be the easiest item on the United States\u0026ndash;North Korea negotiations agenda \u0026ndash; the return of Korean War soldiers\u0026rsquo; remains \u0026ndash; is proving to be yet another sticking point. In the four-part \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/joint-statement-president-donald-j-trump-united-states-america-chairman-kim-jong-un-democratic-peoples-republic-korea-singapore-summit/\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003ejoint statement\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e issued after the 12 June Singapore summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un committed to the \u0026lsquo;\u003c/span\u003eimmediate repatriation\u0026rsquo; of remains already identified. At a rally a week later, US President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the remains of 200 \u0026lsquo;\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-remains/trump-says-north-korea-has-returned-remains-of-200-u-s-war-dead-idUSKBN1JH05L?il=0\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003efallen heroes\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rsquo; had already been returned home. Meanwhile, US forces in South Korea sent 100 wooden \u0026lsquo;transit cases\u0026rsquo; to Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone and another 158 metal coffins to Osan Air Base, in anticipation of an imminent repatriation, \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-military-expecting-repatriation-of-troop-remains-from-north-korea-in-coming-days/2018/06/20/d187de1a-7490-11e8-805c-4b67019fcfe4_story.html?noredirect=on\u0026amp;utm_term=.5aaf00025229\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003etelling\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e reporters on 20 June the transfer was expected within days. The 25 June anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War would have been an auspicious day for it.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot so fast, North Korea communicated, in so many words. Contrary to expectations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made no progress on the remains issue when he visited Pyongyang on 6\u0026ndash;7 July. North Korea then failed to show up at a scheduled meeting on the matter on 12 July. When officials from the United Nations Command (UNC) telephoned to ask why they were stood up, North Korea \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/search1/2603000000.html?cid=AEN20180712010551315\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eproposed\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e upgrading \u003cspan\u003etalks to the general-officer level. They either needed more time to prepare or were just playing on US hopes. The talks may take place as early as 15 July, and would be the first general-level military talks between North Korea and the UNC since March 2009.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy now, family members of the 7,700 US service members who are still unaccounted for from the 1950\u0026ndash;53 war should not be holding their breath in anticipation. Like the more central issue of denuclearisation, the Democratic Peoples\u0026rsquo; Republic of Korea (DPRK) will not give away leverage over the remains without obtaining something of value in return. It wants to see progress on a peace regime, meaning a treaty to put a formal end to the war and an end to what it characterises as Washington\u0026rsquo;s \u0026lsquo;hostile policy\u0026rsquo;. Pompeo\u0026rsquo;s failure to address North Korea\u0026rsquo;s agenda is why he came away from Pyongyang \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.iiss.org/BLOGS/SURVIVAL-BLOG/2018/07/NORTH-KOREA-GIVES-US-SECRETARY-OF-STATE-A-LESSON-IN-DIPLOMACY\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eempty handed\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe war remains have no strategic value but the issue is important to the American psyche, reinforced by the army \u0026lsquo;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022http://nation.time.com/2012/05/17/the-warrior-ethos-why-we-leave-no-one-behind/\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewarrior ethos\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026rsquo; of leaving no one behind. Cooperation between erstwhile enemies in recovering remains can also serve as a helpful confidence-building measure, although distrust takes time to dissipate. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the State Department North Korea desk officer in 1990, one of the authors was involved in the negotiations that produced the first return of US war remains since 1954. On 27 May that year, the DPRK produced five sets of bones along with clothing artifacts and metal identification tags. Forensic examination later revealed that fragments of seven bodies were mixed together, none of which matched the dog tags. Rather than deliver the remains to the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission, the DPRK insisted on giving them directly to US Congressman Sonny Montgomery, who had initiated and led the negotiations. The desk officer\u0026rsquo;s job in the talks was to protect US executive branch positions, and he often found himself having to hold the line against both Montgomery and North Korea\u0026rsquo;s deputy ambassador to the UN, Ho Jong.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe next year, the North Koreans repatriated 11 more sets of remains (in fact, partial sets of what turned out to be 15), insisting on working directly with Senator Bob Smith, who they wrongly said was representing the US administration.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is not surprising that North Korea treats the remains issue as bait to obtain political objectives. The details it provides have often been scanty and incorrect, and the skeletons themselves typically lack the facial bones that are most easy to identify. But over time, as the return process became standardised, the bones were better prepared. In 1996\u0026ndash;97, bilateral negotiations arranged for what became 33 joint field investigations, producing 208 sets of remains (of twice that number of actual soldiers). To date, 459 individuals have been accounted for from the remains recovered since 1990. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJoint recovery efforts were cut off unilaterally by secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld in 2005 over escalating tensions and a concern for the safety of US troops involved in the operations. Concerns were also raised about payments made to North Korea for its role in the effort. The DPRK returned six more sets of remains in 2007, but sporadic efforts to resume joint recovery teams thereafter repeatedly failed. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569610/progress-on-korean-war-personnel-accounting/\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eseveral occasions\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in recent years, North Korea indicated that it had recovered as many as 200 more sets of remains that it was willing to repatriate. This is the number that stuck in Trump\u0026rsquo;s head after the Singapore summit. Why he claimed they had already been returned is anyone\u0026rsquo;s guess. Like his other statements claiming success in Singapore, his words only raised the value of North Korea\u0026rsquo;s negotiation chips.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_8bs09oQA0qtODewpIOGww"))});
It is not surprising that North Korea treats the remains of fallen US troops as bait to obtain political objectives. Like the issue of denuclearisation, Pyongyang will not give away a valuable bargaining chip.
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