Trump thanks Kim for returning remains of US soldiers

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01:41

US President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, for returning the remains of US soldiers who died in the Korean War.

"After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un," Trump tweeted late at night.

Earlier on Thursday the White House said a US military aircraft carrying the remains of US soldiers who died in the Korean War had left the DPRK.

According to a statement issued by the White House press secretary, a US Air Force C-17 aircraft containing remains of fallen service members has departed from the DPRK's Wonsan.

The C-17 Globemaster, a US Air Force transport aircraft, arrives at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, South Korea on July 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

It said the C-17 is transferring the remains to US Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea (ROK), where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on August 1.

The return showed that Pyongyang is fulfilling part of its commitment, made in the historic US-DPRK leaders' meeting in Singapore on June 12, and Washington is encouraged by the actions "and the momentum for positive change," the White House added.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the United States will receive the first sets of soldiers' remains from the DPRK soon.

The DPRK transfers the remains of an unspecified number of soldiers killed in the Korean War to the US in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, ROK, July 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

Washington and Pyongyang also agreed to restart field operations in the DPRK to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans missing in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

As part of the outcomes of the US-DPRK leaders' Singapore summit in Singapore, Pyongyang and Washington agreed to commit to recovering the remains of the US war dead and those missing in action during the war, including an immediate repatriation of those already identified.

The transfer of the remains coincided with the 65th anniversary of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended fighting, although the DPRK and ROK are technically still at war because a peace treaty was never signed.