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Trump identifies remains of two American soldiers killed in Korean war

"These HEROES are home, they may Rest In Peace, and hopefully their families can have closure," the president tweeted.
Image:
UN Command Chaplain U.S. Army Col. Sam Lee performs a blessing on the 55 cases of remains believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War and returned by North Korea at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on July 27, 2018.Staff Sgt. Quince Lanford / U.S. Army via AP

President Donald Trump on Thursday identified the remains of two American servicemen who were killed during the Korean War and whose remains were returned by North Korea two months ago following Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un.

Trump tweets that the remains include those of Charles H. McDaniel, a 32-year-old Army master sergeant from Vernon, Indiana, and William H. Jones, a 19-year-old Army private from Nash County, North Carolina.

The president says: "These HEROES are home, they may Rest In Peace, and hopefully their families can have closure."

The Pentagon has also confirmed the identities.

McDaniel's name had been made public last month because his military identification tag was among the 55 boxes of remains that North Korea turned over on July 27.

Thousands of additional remains are believed to lie on North Korean battlefields and at former POW camps.

A senior Pentagon official said the U.S. hopes to begin face-to-face negotiations with North Korea next month on terms for resuming on-the-ground searches in North Korea for remains of American servicemen.

The official, Kelly McKeague, told reporters the aim is to begin searches next spring if agreement can be reached on areas of dispute such as the kinds of amounts of compensation to North Korea.

McKeague is director of the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency, which is responsible for recovering and identifying remains of U.S. war dead, including the thousands unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War.