US suspends effort to recover Korean war remains this year amid silence from Pyongyang
- No communication about repatriation of remains has taken place since President Donald Trump’s failed summit with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi
- US effort to communicate with the North Korean army have been suspended, the Defence Department said in a statement
“We have reached the point where we can no longer effectively plan, coordinate, and conduct field operations in [North Korea} during this financial year, which ends on September 30,” the statement said. “We are assessing possible next steps in resuming communications with the [North Koreans] to plan for potential joint recovery operations to be scheduled [next financial year].”
The decision, announced by the Defence Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA), adds another layer of complexity to US relations with North Korea.
A Pentagon spokesman, Army Lieutenant Colonel David Eastburn, said in another statement that the DPAA “remains open to productive discussions” with North Korea about the resumption of recovery operations.