Korean Peninsula Diplomacy: DPRK returns remains of 200 US troops missing in Korean War

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03:14

US President Donald Trump says the remains of some US troops will be coming home from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "They've already sent back or are in the process of sending back the remains of our great heroes who died in North Korea during the war."

The agreement to return the remains came out of the summit Trump had with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Nearly eight-thousand US soldiers remain unaccounted for from the Korean conflict. Some of the war's veterans are adamant that Washington should press the issue until all of their missing comrades come home. CGTN's Roee Ruttenberg has more.

On the side of a rural highway in Virginia, this memorial honors the local men who fought and died on the Korean Peninsula more than sixty years ago.

The bronze boots - a reminder of the American troops who marched off to war.

Lewis Ewing was a 19-year old corporal with the U.S. Army's 6th Helicopter Company.

LEWIS EWING KOREAN WAR VETERAN "The temperature got down to 40 or 50 degrees below zero. And our guys simply weren't equipped for that. So we had a lot of guys that simply froze to death really."

Most of the American dead came home in caskets. Some remained behind.

LEWIS EWING KOREAN WAR VETERAN "We have something like 7,800 who are still missing in the Korean War, and we can't search for them because most of them are in North Korea."

That may soon change. In his talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he raised the issue of MIAs - American soldiers, missing in action. Trump said their loved ones asked him to help bring back their remains.

PAUL BOMBARDIER KOREAN WAR VETERAN "I met their families. Their closure would be to get positive proof that they got some of their kinfolk back."

Paul Bombardier says: America owes his friend - an American pilot - that much.

PAUL BOMBARDIER KOREAN WAR VETERAN "I was the last man to see him alive. Because they took off on their mission and 10 minutes later they were reported shot down. No bodies, no crash site."

JACK KEEP KOREAN WAR VETERAN "Even though we're talking about second or third generation of family, at least there would be some comfort and some satisfaction to know that their body was recovered and brought back here to our homeland again."

Officially the Korean War never ended. And for some, words won't change that.

But for others - recent cross-Pacific overtures are a promising start.

JACK KEEP KOREAN WAR VETERAN "I think most of us realize that we have to accept things with some reserve until we are able to verify what's happening. But I think this is a good first step."

ROEE RUTTENBERG WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA "A previous agreement led to the returned remains of 229 Americans before nuclear tensions abruptly halted cooperation. That was more than a decade ago. These Korean War veterans are hoping for a sustained effort - that will last until every missing soldier is brought home. RRU, CGTN in Winchester, Virginia."