U.S. to receive American soldiers remains in coming weeks: Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will receive the remains of American service members in the coming weeks from North Korea, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a meeting with cabinet members, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

The repatriation of remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War was one of the agreements reached during the June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June in Singapore.

Pompeo unveiled the plan for talks after visiting Pyongyang this month, touting it as one of key issues on which the two sides had made progress, though the North accused his delegation of making “gangster-like” demands in connection with denuclearization during the trip.

U.S. and North Korean officials met on the inter-Korean border on Sunday to discuss the return of remains, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

Pompeo initially said the two sides had agreed to hold talks on U.S. remains on Thursday but no North Korea representatives showed up on the border.

Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis

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