SEOUL (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he looked forward to meeting Kim Jong Un soon and thanked the North Korean leader for sending the suspected remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War back to the United States.
“Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action,” Trump wrote in a Twitter message.
“Also, thank you for your nice letter – I look forward to seeing you soon!”, Trump said, without elaborating.
The pledge to return the remains of US soldiers was made during a landmark summit between Trump and Kim in June in Singapore, where North Korea committed to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Trump also took to Twitter earlier to praise an “incredibly beautiful ceremony” in Hawaii, where Vice President Mike Pence helped welcome the remains to the United States.
The United States said during a solemn ceremony on Wednesday the human remains presumably included Americans killed in the Korean War and thanked North Korea for making good on its pledge to hand them over.
“I know that President Trump is grateful that Chairman Kim has kept his word, and we see today this tangible progress in our efforts to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula,” said Pence, whose father fought in the Korean War.
More than 7,700 US troops remain unaccounted for from the Korea War. About 5,300 were lost in what is now North Korea.
