Republic of Korea - Letter to the United States

[Jay]

Status of Remains of US Forces Korea​

Private and encrypted Delivered by Republic of Korea Embassy Washington D.C.​

Dear Secretary Odinson ,

I hope this email finds you well. The Republic of Korea for the past ten months has conducted a systematic search for the remains of over 32,000 Korean, American, and other UN forces service members. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has completed a major canvas of the country using new and updated maps, information from the Archives and support of the veterans located in the North. H.E. President Kim Dae-jung has made the excavation for the proper return of all war heroes of our long and painful war to be returned as soon as possible a top priority for his administration. Today’s Republic has been made possible thanks to the dedication of the guardian spirits of the country and decorated war veterans including the U.N. Korean War. H.E. President Kim pays a heartfelt tribute to all of those who have worked hard to help establish and maintain peace.

The Republic of Korea would like to inform the United States that the remains of 6,861 American service members have been recovered with identification made on 4,939, we require US assistance in identifying the identities of the remaining 1,922 service members remains. As your records may recall, there are currently 7,800 American service members unaccounted for since the war. We will continue to work on securing and repatriating the remains of the 939 American servicemen unrecovered.

With regards to the 6,861 American remains currently held in the Republic of Korea, we formally invite a delegation of the Department of Defense to confirm the remains of US servicemen and begin the process of informing their families long awaiting their return. It is our hope that they may find closure with the return of their loved ones. Once their identifications are confirmed, it would be our privileged to invite and host the families of the 6,861 servicemen so that they may see the strong and beaconing Republic that was preserved and built on their sacrifices.

It is in these values, that the ROK-US alliance was founded. It is in these values that our Administration hopes the world will rekindle with the efforts to preserve the painful reminder of division and war on the Korean Peninsula and bring an honorable closure to the missing 25,000 Korean servicemen and hundreds of other brotherly soldiers of the UN Forces. We are prepared to provide all services and information needed for the proper rites and protocols for their return.

Signed with sincerity,
Cabinet of the Republic of Korea

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Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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