U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the United Nations Command(UNC) will handle North Korea's repatriation of American service members killed during the Korean War.

Mattis made the remark while speaking to reporters on his way to China on Tuesday for his Northeast Asia tour which will also take him to South Korea and Japan.

He said the UNC in South Korea is prepared to receive the remains and the U.S. is simply standing by for whenever the diplomatic activities are done, adding Washington is optimistic the repatriation will begin because it was an agreement made during the Singapore summit.

He explained the UNC, and not the South Korean or U.S. military alone, was chosen to receive the remains because all 21 nations that fought under the UN flag alongside South Korea and the U.S. during the Korean War had lost troops. 

The UNC oversees the ceasefire that ended the war.

[Photo : YONHAP News]