Director - Office of Korean Affairs Department of State
June 20, 1996
POW/MIAs and North Korea
The Return of Remains and POW/MIA Issues with North Korea
Mr. Chairman,
It is my pleasure to represent the State Department before this committee.
The return of the remains of US servicemen and an accounting for those missing have been important issues for the US since the end of the Korean War. We have been in active contact with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the remains issue since 1985. A number of channels have been used to achieve progress on this issue, including the Military Armistice Commission, meetings between US and DPRK Embassies in Beijing, our New York channel via the DPRK UN Mission, and direct negotiations, most recently between US delegations led by the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) and North Korean delegations led by the Foreign Ministry and including representatives of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
A number of Congressmen have also played important roles over the last decade, including Congressman Sonny Montgomery and Senators Bob Smith and Frank Murkowski. Mr. Chairman, your own comments in hearings last November helped underline the importance of this issue. Most recently, Congressman Bill Richardson visited Pyongyang to convey the importance of North Korean cooperation on the return of remains.
State and DOD have cooperated in various ways to accomplish the US goal of bringing fallen Americans homethrough the institution of joint recovery operations. Over the last several months, the State Department has assisted by serving as a channel of communications with the North, by despatching personnel to assist DPMO's negotiators and by providing advice on the political context within which theremains negotiations have taken place.
What is the political context for these activities? The DPRK Agreed Framework of October, 1994 made clear to North Korea that the implementation of the nuclear agreement and progress on other issues of concern to the United States would be needed in order for North Korea's relations with the US to improve. In addition to the nuclear issue, we have made clear to the North Koreans our concerns about a number of other issues. These include: missile proliferation, DPRK support for terrorism, North-South dialogue, the reduction ofconventional military threats, and -- prominently -- the return of the remains of American servicemen who died in North Korea during the Korean War.
We have made clear to the North Koreans that more normal relations will only be possible if we are able to make progress on these issues of concern to the US. We have stressed the importance of resolving the important humanitarian issue of repatriating remains.
Our South Korean allies have fully understood our efforts to deal with North Korea on the remains issue, recognizing the importance of this humanitarian issue to the US. We appreciate the understanding and support they have shown.
Under DPMO's skillful leadership, our consistent approaches to the North Koreans have produced some significant and welcome progress. As Mr. Liotta has indicated in his testimony, detailed negotiations with North Korea over the past five months produced agreement last week in Pyongyangto conduct the first joint recovery operations in North Korea beginning next month. DPRK agreement to joint recovery operations is a major step forward.
These negotiations have taken place against the backdrop of forty years of post-Korean War hostility between the USand North Korea. North Korea is perhaps the most closed society in the world. The Korean Peoples Army, the organization with which DPMO reached agreement last week and with which DPMO will be working to conduct the joint recovery operations, has been one of the most impenetrable elements in Korea. In this context, our agreement to conduct joint recovery operations with the KPA in North Korea is truly a major accomplishment. And one on which we must build with continued firmness and patience.
Apart from the return of remains there is the related and important question of whether there are Americans POWs or MIAs still alive in North Korea. The State Department fully supports DOD's efforts to check all reports alleging that there may be Americans held against their will in North Korea. While there have been reports of live American POWs, thus far, the USG has been unable to substantiate that any Americans are being held in North Korea against their will.
The agreement to conduct joint recovery operations reflects the success we have had in persuading North Korea of the importance of these humanitarian issues and in building a basis for constructive work with North Korea. This bodes well for our ability to make progress on the repatriation of remains and to resolve the fate of the American soldiers still listed as missing in action from the Korean War. We will continue to encourage North Korean cooperation, making clear that concrete accomplishments are needed in this and other areas in order for our bilateral relations to improve.
Thank you.