FILE – In this July 7, 2018, file photo, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, and Kim Yong Chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, arrive for a lunch at the Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea. More than a month after North Korea pledged to immediately return some American war dead, the promise is unfulfilled. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — South Korea’s Yonhap news agency says a U.S. military plane has left Osan Air Base for North Korea to pick up remains of what are believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War.
The U.S. military and South Korean government couldn’t immediately confirm the report, which was based on an unnamed South Korean government source. But there were signs Friday morning of preparations to receive the remains at the base south of Seoul.
If a transfer takes place, Pyongyang will likely return about 55 sets of remains from the 1950-53 Korean War, a step meant to fulfill a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un during his summit with President Donald Trump in June.
About 5,300 U.S. remains are believed to be in North Korea. /muf