SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday that it has accepted a U.S. proposal to discuss recovering remains of American troops killed during the Korean War, another sign of easing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
About 8,000 U.S. service members are listed as missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, including 5,500 in North Korea. Joint efforts to recover remains began in 1996, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The work was suspended in 2005 after Washington said there wasn’t enough security for its personnel.
Preparation for talks on restarting the search for remains comes as the countries pursue tentative discussions on resuming stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations.
The United States and North Korea fought on opposite sides of the war and have never signed a peace treaty.
Ties have been particularly tense in recent years over North Korea’s insistence on building a nuclear weapons program. North Korea has criticized military drills between Seoul and Washington as practice for an invasion. The drills end next week
Still, there have been recent bright spots in the relationship.
Last month, a senior North Korean diplomat visited New York to discuss ways to restart nuclear disarmament talks last held in December 2008.
Earlier this month, U.S. officials also called for talks on resuming the excavation of soldiers’ remains and were awaiting Pyongyang’s reply.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman told the North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday that Pyongyang had accepted the U.S. proposal.
Still missing
About 5,500 U.S. service members are listed as missing in North Korea from the 1950-53 Korean War.
