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| Officials from the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA (killed in action) Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) conduct excavation work at Arrowhead Ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Courtesy of MAKRI |
By Jung Da-min
It has been over two-and-a-half months since South Korea independently kicked off what was supposed to be a joint excavation of war remains on the untouched highland of Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ),
which was agreed upon by the two Koreas as part of their Comprehensive Military Agreement made last Sept. 19.
Since the work began April, 435 bones believed to be from over 50 soldiers and 29,813 items of war have been found in the DMZ area as of June 9, according to the Inter-Korean Joint Recovery Project taskforce under the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA (killed in action) Recovery and Identification (MAKRI).
Although the excavation by South Korea has accomplished much, the achievements will be only half, or even less than half of what the project could have made with the participation of North Korea.
The North's participation would not only accelerate the excavation work itself but has further meaning, as it could lead to joint excavation work of war remains by North Korea and the United States in the North.
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| The skeleton of what is believed to be either a U.S. or French soldier, excavated at Arrow Ridge in the DMZ, June 5, is seen in this photo. Courtesy of MAKRI |
From 1996 to 2005, the U.S. and North Korea conducted joint excavation projects in South Hamgyong and North Pyongan provinces, from which the bodies of what the North claimed to be of 208 U.S. soldiers were returned to their homeland.
Last July, North Korea returned 55 boxes of human remains presumed to be of U.S. soldiers, after the two countries held their first-ever summit in Singapore, June 12 last year.
Such gestures of reconciliation, however, have not been seen from the North since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. This led to the U.S. decision last month to pause efforts to recover the remains of its soldiers in North Korea, citing a lack of cooperation.
But as positive messages have emerged from the U.S. and North Korea regarding denuclearization negotiations ― around time of the one year anniversary of the June 12 Singapore summit ― there is renewed hope that the North might re-engage in the excavation work.
And the starting point for Pyongyang could be answering Seoul's request to send a list of names for the taskforce for the inter-Korean excavation project, before its planned operational period ends, Oct. 31.
