U.S. paid no money to North Korea for the repatriation of remains of American troops
- 6 years ago
North Korea returned 55 sets of soldiers' remains to the U.S on Friday.
And while reports and government officials have said that Pyongyang had been reimbursed for related caosts, it appears that no money was exchanged this time around.
Lee Ji-won has more.
The U.S. says it made no payments to North Korea for the return of the remains of American troops last week.
Answering a question from South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert wrote that the Secretary of Defense has the authority to reimburse the North, or any other country, for expenses associated with the recovery and storage of remains.
But in this instance, it said North Korea did not ask for money and no money was exchanged.
The message went on to say that the repatriation was part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's commitment to the promise he made to U.S. President Donald Trump and that it is one of the palpable implementations of the Joint Statement, agreed by the two leaders in Singapore last month.
This comes after North Korea on Friday returned 55 boxes of remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War.
Prior to the return, a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency official had said that, though the U.S. government does not pay any government or individual for the remains of missing Americans,... it is authorized to reimburse the North for the costs of the operation, from recovery to return.
A Congressional Research Service report showed that Washington paid 28 million U.S. dollars to North Korea for the recovery of remains between 1996 and 2005, as a reimbursement for the costs of their joint field activities.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.
And while reports and government officials have said that Pyongyang had been reimbursed for related caosts, it appears that no money was exchanged this time around.
Lee Ji-won has more.
The U.S. says it made no payments to North Korea for the return of the remains of American troops last week.
Answering a question from South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert wrote that the Secretary of Defense has the authority to reimburse the North, or any other country, for expenses associated with the recovery and storage of remains.
But in this instance, it said North Korea did not ask for money and no money was exchanged.
The message went on to say that the repatriation was part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's commitment to the promise he made to U.S. President Donald Trump and that it is one of the palpable implementations of the Joint Statement, agreed by the two leaders in Singapore last month.
This comes after North Korea on Friday returned 55 boxes of remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War.
Prior to the return, a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency official had said that, though the U.S. government does not pay any government or individual for the remains of missing Americans,... it is authorized to reimburse the North for the costs of the operation, from recovery to return.
A Congressional Research Service report showed that Washington paid 28 million U.S. dollars to North Korea for the recovery of remains between 1996 and 2005, as a reimbursement for the costs of their joint field activities.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.