Anchor: On the 65th anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement Friday, North Korea returned the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the three-year conflict. Just before the remains left the North, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Twitter.
Choi You Sun has this report.

Report: The U.S. Air Force transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War landed at South Korea’s Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek at around 11 a.m. Friday.

The cargo plane, which left the air base for Kalma Airport in North Korea's eastern coastal city of Wonsan at 5:55 a.m., returned with the remains in wooden boxes. The UN Command confirmed that 55 sets of remains were repatriated. 

Onboard the C-17 were service members of the UN Command in South Korea and technical experts from the U.S. Defense POW(Prisoners of War)/MIA(Missing in Action) Accounting Agency. 

The agency plans to inspect the remains, which were most likely excavated from the North's Unsan and Jangjinho regions where the two sides had agreed in 2011 to jointly unearth as part of their search efforts. 

After a formal repatriation ceremony next Wednesday, the remains will be transferred to a forensic lab in Hawaii for final identification.

Shortly before the aircraft left the North, U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Twitter, adding that the return of the soldiers' remains after so many years will be "a great moment for so many families." 

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the U.S. is "encouraged by North Korea's actions and the momentum for positive change."

The transfer of the remains was part of an agreement reached between Trump and Kim during their summit in Singapore last month.

Attention now turns to whether Pyongyang's repatriation will provide momentum for the two sides' negotiations on the North's denuclearization and establishment of a peace regime.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.