by REERA YOO
North Korea said Monday that remains of thousands of American soldiers killed during the Korean War were being “carried away en masse” due to construction projects and flood damage, the Associated Press reported.
The Korean War, which lasted from 1950-53, ended in an armistice that left the peninsula still technically at war. About 8,000 U.S. service members are listed as missing, and among them, 5,300 are believed to be in North Korean soil. According to the New York Times, there have been 33 joint recovery operations conducted by the U.S. and North Korea between 1996 and 2005. However, Washington suspended recovery efforts in 2012 due to rising tensions over the North’s plans to launch a long-range rocket.
On Monday, an unidentified North Korean military spokesman told the state media that U.S. war remains “now look like no better than stones as land rezoning and other gigantic nature-remaking projects made progress.”
He added, “The Obama administration should not forget even a moment the proverb saying that even a skeleton cries out of yearning for the homeland.”
Analysts believe that North Korea’s statement is an apparent effort to pressure the U.S. into resuming recovery efforts, which could lead to much-needed cash for the reclusive country as well as better ties with Washington, reported AP.
Last week, there were signs of easing tension when top-ranking officials of the North Korean delegation met with South Korean negotiators and agreed to resume high-level talks. However, just days after the meeting, the two Koreas exchanged fire at the disputed sea border and again traded machine gunfire across the armed land border after South Korean activists launched balloons carrying anti-Pyonyang leaflets.
Photo courtesy of Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
