News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: US-NK Excavation & Repatriation Talks Fail

Date: December 17, 1999

North Korea balked and the US walked from 3 days of remains recovery discussions in Berlin, where Stalinist North Koreans have maintain a mission.

Taking a cue from Hanoi... pay up or give up... the communist country demanded substantial humanitarian aid and reparations - Communist Vietnam also tied the POW-MIA issue to aid and something they called 'healing the wounds of war.' In most countries the words that describe this mindset are blackmail or extortion... and payola is illegal.

The Pyongyang terms were that the US provide 'extensive' aid in order to extend 'cooperative' searches for remains of US service personnel still unaccounted-for from the Korean War that raged from 1950 until an armistice ended the shooting, but not the hostility, in 1953. Some cooperation, eh?

The entire North Korean recovery operation has been an ongoing fiasco, we note:

42 sets of remains recovered and repatriated thus far remain at CILHI, unidentified

Only 3 positive identifications thus far

North Korea's practice of complete destruction and/or commingling of remains

Continuous breakdowns in discussions

North Korea's continued disputes over repatriation 'procedure'

Continued demands by NK for payment for 'bones' under the guise of aid

ad infinitum, ad nauseum

North Korea continues to hold hostage the remains of missing US servicemen... the continued reports of living Americans will not go away... in effect, the Forgotten War is not forgotten, it is not even past. Dr. Paul Cole hit the nail on the head when he wrote; "North Korea and the United States remain in an official state of war. This, in addition to the fact that the North Korean government has not told the truth on a single issue related to the recovery of American remains, is the point of departure for any discussion of North Korea's remains strategy."

Then he writes - "North Korea has attempted to apply something akin to China's hostage strategy to the human remains issue. First, North Korea has exhibited an interest in achieving the perception of par status with the United States. This is illustrated by North Korea's interest in bilateral negotiations. Second, North Korea has attempted to appeal to the American public to bring pressure to bear on US officials. Thus far, the North Koreans have realized little if any tangible advantage beyond winning valuable time from the use of remains for foreign policy purposes."

"North Korea's bid to placate the United States by providing dubious remains is a remarkably shortsighted policy." further, "Experience and accumulated forensic data show that the current US policy and recovery strategy does not serve the legitimate needs of the families or the interests of the US government. For remains recovered under the current policy, the prospects are minimal that these remains or any others returned in similar condition will ever be associated with an individual missing case."

And finally he delivers the coup de grace - " This study recommends that the objectives of US policy be changed to recover and identify. If this measure is not adopted, this study recommends that the US government should invest in a larger warehouse for the storge of human remains obtained from North Korea."