President Trump early Thursday thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for returning presumed war remains, adding that he looks forward to seeing Kim soon.
“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,” he said. “Also, thank you for your nice letter – l look forward to seeing you soon!”
{mosads}Trump did not specify whether the letter from Kim was a new message from the North Korean leader.
Trump in July shared a letter he received from Kim after a summit between the leaders in Singapore. Kim in that letter referred to the meeting with Trump as “the start of a meaningful journey” and expressed optimism about future talks.
Trump’s tweet came after a repatriation ceremony on Wednesday at Pearl Harbor. Fifty-five caskets of presumed U.S. troop remains were unloaded from military planes and placed on stanchions at the Hawaii air base.
“Some have called the Korean War the forgotten war but today we prove these heroes were never forgotten. Today, our boys are coming home,” Vice President Pence said at the ceremony.
Trump in an earlier tweet thanked Pence for “delivering a truly magnificent tribute” at the “incredibly beautiful ceremony.”
The identities of the remains in the caskets returned Wednesday are unknown and the identification process could reportedly take several years to complete.
The director of analysis for the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency John Boyd told reporters on Tuesday, however, that “there is no reason to doubt that they do relate to Korean War losses.”