North Korea failed to attend scheduled working-level talks with the United States at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom on Thursday on the repatriation of American soldiers killed in the North during the Korean War.
Despite being stood up with no explanation,.. the U.S. has agreed to reschedule the talks for this weekend.
Park Hee-jun reports.
Officials from North Korea were expected to meet Thursday with UN Command officials representing the United States to discuss repatriating the remains of American troops who went missing in action during the Korean War.
Returning the remains was something North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to do when he met last month with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore.
Talks on implementing the agreement were due to be held on Thursday at the truce village of Panmunjom, as arranged last week in Pyongyang by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol.
The U.S. had already sent a hundred wooden caskets to Panmunjom to carry the soldiers' remains back home,... once an agreement was reached.
But North Korean officials never showed up.
The agreement to return them was considered a huge step forward in building trust between Pyongyang and Washington.
It’s unclear why the North Korean officials were not present.
However, according to the U.S. State Department,... the North contacted the U.S. side, offering to hold the talks on Sunday instead.
State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said the U.S. will be ready.
Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, citing government sources, also reported that Pyongyang proposed holding them at the general-level,... strongly hinting that the North wants a senior U.S. military official present at the negotiations.
It's not yet known who will participate from the U.S. side.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
