WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The human remains returned by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are "believed to be" those of U.S. service members from the Korean War (1950-53), the Pentagon said on Monday.
"The remains of U.S. #ServiceMembers believed to be from the #KoreanWar leave #OsanAirBase, #SouthKorea to return to U.S. soil," the U.S. Department of Defense tweeted.
On the same day, an "honorable carry ceremony" was held in Hawaii, attended by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and several military families, to receive the 55 boxes containing the servicemen's last remains returned by the DPRK.
"Now the work of identification begins," the Pentagon said Tuesday. The remains will be examined at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory at the Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, the largest skeletal identification laboratory in the world. After the DNA and dental tests, DPAA experts will try to identify the dead personnel.
Though the returned remains are presumed to be those of fallen U.S. soldiers, since many other nations also fought in the Korean War, it's possible that they could be those of service members from other nations.
At their historic summit in Singapore in June, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to repatriate the remains of the U.S. troops.
The 55 boxes were flown out of the DPRK aboard a U.S. military aircraft on July 27 and kept at the Osan Air Base before being taken to Hawaii.