North Korea Gave the US a Single Military Dog Tag

And no other information that could help US forensics experts ID the remains
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 1, 2018 1:03 AM CDT
Updated Aug 1, 2018 6:04 AM CDT
N. Korea Gave Up 55 Boxes of Bones, but Just One Dog Tag
United Nations Command Chaplain US Army Col. Sam Lee performs a blessing of sacrifice and remembrance on the 55 cases of remains believed to be US servicemen killed during the Korean War and returned by North Korea at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018.   (Staff Sgt. Quince Lanford/U.S. Army via AP)

When North Korea handed over 55 boxes of bones that it said are remains of American war dead, it provided a single military dog tag but no other information that could help US forensics experts determine their individual identities, a US defense official said Tuesday. The official, who discussed previously undisclosed aspects of the remains issue on condition of anonymity, said it probably will take months if not years to fully determine individual identities from the remains, which have not yet been confirmed by US specialists to be those of American servicemen. The official did not know details about the single dog tag, including the name on it, or whether it was even that of an American military member.

During the Korean War, combat troops of 16 other United Nations member countries fought alongside US service members on behalf of South Korea, the AP reports. Some of them, including Australia, Belgium, France and the Philippines, have yet to recover some of their war dead from North Korea. The 55 boxes were handed over at Wonsan, North Korea, last Friday and flown aboard a US military transport plane to Osan air base in South Korea, where US officials catalogued the contents. After a repatriation ceremony at Osan on Wednesday, the remains will be flown to Hawaii where they will begin undergoing in-depth forensic analysis, in some cases using mitochondrial DNA profiles, at a Defense Department laboratory to attempt to establish individual identifications.

(More North Korea stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X