U.S - North Korea

Private U.S. Delegation Traveling to North Korea
Visit will focus on return of U.S. Korean War soldiers’ remains

By Stephen Kaufman
USINFO Staff Writer
03 April 2007

Washington -- New Mexico’s governor, Bill Richardson, and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi are leading a bipartisan U.S. delegation to North Korea to facilitate the return of the remains of U.S. servicemen missing from the 1950-1953 Korean War.

According to an April 3 statement issued by White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino, the April 8-11 visit is at the invitation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, the formal name for North Korea), and the U.S. delegation will include other officials to provide support and technical expertise.

“The United States Government has invested considerable energy in persuading the DPRK to adhere to the provisions of the [Korean War Armistice Agreement] that cover repatriation of remains,” the statement said, adding that the upcoming trip “will reinforce progress already achieved in this area.”

The war, which began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea, ultimately led to interventions by China and a 16-member coalition of United Nations forces led by the United States.  On July 27, 1953, the military commanders of the North Korean People's Army, the Chinese People's Volunteers and the United Nations Command (UNC) signed an armistice agreement at Panmunjom, in what is now the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.  Neither the United States nor South Korea is a signatory to the armistice, but both adhere to it through the UNC.  No comprehensive peace agreement has replaced the 1953 armistice pact.

More than 33,000 U.S. troops were killed in the fighting during the Korean War, and 8,100 U.S. troops remain listed as missing following the 1953 cease-fire, according to press reports.