Don’t be fooled, this is just yet another effort by the North Koreans to receive some cash:

Marines of the First Marine Division pay their respects to fallen buddies during memorial services at the division's cemetery at Hamhung, Korea, following the break-out from Chosin Reservoir, December 13, 1950. Cpl. Uthe. (Marine Corps)

North Korea accused the United States on Monday of ignoring its efforts to return remains of American soldiers who were killed in the Korean War in the 1950s and threatened to stop collecting and returning the bodies.

The North’s military said it informed the U.S. twice this year of “a number of” remains of U.S. troops found during land realignment and farming preparations in 10 different locations. But the U.S. Defense Department has not offered a concrete response and asked the North to wait, it said.

“Though lots of U.S. remains are being dug out and scattered here and there in our country, our side will no longer be concerned about it,” said a military statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The Korean War ended in a 1953 cease-fire that has never been replaced by a peace treaty – leaving the Korean peninsula technically still at war. About 8,000 U.S. servicemen are listed as missing from the conflict.

The U.S. and North Korea had previously been involved in a joint project to recover remains in the North, but the effort was halted in 2005 after Washington said security arrangements for its personnel were insufficient.

In late January, a Pentagon official said North Korea offered to consider allowing the U.S. back into the country to resume searching for remains.  [Stars & Stripes]

All the North Koreans are doing is trying to use these Korean War remains as another cash cow for them.  The program to return these remains were halted back in 2005 so this policy of not buying the remains from the North Koreans is one that has had continuity between two administrations.  The way I have always felt on this issue is that this is an area of cooperation I would like to see get re-started with North Korea as long as they don’t try and charge some extravagant price for the return of Korean War dead.  The fact that the Obama administration has not re-started this program shows that the North Koreans are probably still demanding huge sums of money in return for each servicemembers remains that is repatriated.

The South Koreans on the other hand for those that don’t know have a very good program in place to recover Korean War remains that is done with dignity and honor.

Over 8,000 American servicemembers remaining missing in action from the Korean War with roughly 2,000 of them suspected of being buried in South Korea with the rest either in North Korea or China.  The JPAC team stationed at Hickam AFB in Hawaii responsible for recovering Korean War remains over the years has only identified over 90 of these remains over the years.  The picture above shows just how many remains the North Koreans have in Hamhung that would be very easy for them to recover and return, but will only do it at a price which right now the US is not willing to pay.

I can remember doing a funeral detail a few years back for a family who had remains recovered of a relative from World War II.  During the funeral the soldier’s 91 year old sister was on hand and cried as if the soldier had died a day prior.  She and the rest of her family really appreciated that the US found her brother, brought him back to the US, and then gave him a full military funeral.  That is what convinced me that recovering these remains should still remain a priority to bring peace of mind to the relatives of the deceased servicemembers.