U.S. Suspends MIA Remains Hunt

The U.S. government has suspended work to recover the Korean War remains of U.S. soldiers from inside North Korea due to the North’s recent “inappropriate” behavior.

Department of Defense Press Secretary George Little revealed news of the suspension yesterday, saying, “We have suspended that effort because we believe that North Korea has not acted appropriately in recent days and weeks and that it’s important for them to return to the standards of behavior that the international community has called for.”

Little continued, “We hope to engage with them on remains recovery efforts. That’s important. But when there are suggestions that they might launch ballistic missiles, when they make bellicose statements about South Korea and engage in actions that could be construed as provocative, we think that it’s not the right time to undertake this effort.”

However, he added that the U.S. is hopeful that the work will restart in the future.

Work to recover the remains of U.S. soldiers from inside North Korea first began in 1996; however, it was stopped by the administration of George Bush Jr. due to security fears in 2005. The two sides agreed in October 2011 to restart it once again this month, although it is unclear whether the U.S. had put anybody on the ground in North Korea prior to the announcement of April’s rocket launch.

Little would not be drawn about the repercussions of the planned launch with regards to the ‘nutritional assistance’ food aid was agreed by the two sides in February, but conceded that it may also fall victim to the North’s latest aggressive moves.

“I believe there will be other repercussions as a result of their continued pursuit of this particular launch, which could include that,” he noted.