U.S. proposes to renew casualty-recovery talks with North Korea

February 4, 2000
Web posted at: 9:46 PM EST (0246 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has proposed to North Korean officials that both nations resume negotiations to coordinate joint recovery operations of remains believed to be those of American soldiers from the Korean War. The talks broke off last December in Berlin.

Last week, North Korea informed the U.S. government and several veterans' organizations that it held about 415 sets of remains of American soldiers. After inquiries by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, North Korean officials amended their story, saying they have remains in their possession of only one or two soldiers, and estimate there may be another 400 that might be found in the same area.

That estimate dovetails with U.S. estimates that there are more than 500 sets of potentially recoverable remains in this area. During the past four years, joint recovery teams have conducted 12 operations and returned 42 sets of remains from the same area.

North Korean officials also reported they had the military dogtag of Charles Sizemore, a U.S. soldier missing in action from the Korean War. North Korean officials, however, informed the United States that there is no correlation between the Sizemore dogtag and any remains in their possession. Moreover, U.S. researchers have discovered many such dogtags in North Korean military museums.

The talks in Berlin ended without agreement after North Korea sought to link large-scale economic assistance to joint recovery operations.

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