Probable remains of GIs coming home

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Remains believed to be those of seven American soldiers missing in action from the Korean War will be repatriated Tuesday from North Korea.

The remains will be flown on a U.S. Air Force aircraft from Pyongyang under escort of a uniformed U.S. honor guard to Yokota Air Base, Japan, where a U.N. Command repatriation ceremony will be held, the Defense Department said Monday.

A joint team operating near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea recovered six sets of remains believed to be those of soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division, which faced Chinese forces the last two months of 1950.

A second team recovered one set of remains along the Chong Chon River near the junction of Unsan and Kujang counties, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang.

The area was the site of battles between Communist forces and the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry and 25th Infantry Divisions in November 1950.

Approximately 1,000 Americans died during the Chosin campaign.

The 28-person U.S. contingent on the joint team was composed primarily of specialists from the Army's Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii.

Three recovery operations were scheduled for this year after the Defense Department's Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office negotiations with the North Koreans in June.

The two remaining operations are set for August 24-September 24 and September 28-October 29.

Twenty-three joint operations have been conducted since 1996 in North Korea and 159 sets of remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers have been recovered.

Thirteen have been positively identified and returned to their families for burial with military honors. Another 12 are in the forensic identification process.

Of the 88,000 U.S. service members missing in action from all conflicts, more than 8,100 are from the Korean War.