The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has handed over the remains of US soldiers killed during the Korean War. This took place on Friday, a special date for the nations involved in the conflict. CGTN's Jack Barton has this report from the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone.

A U.S. military transport plane landing at Osan airbase near the South Korean capital Seoul. An honour guard was on hand as 55 caskets draped in United Nations flags were carried from the plane. They contained what are believed to be the remains of U.S. soldiers who died during the Korean War, soldiers who fought as part of a U.S.-led United Nations force.

About 5300 U.S. remains are still believed to be in the D.P.R.K., which recently agreed to allow the resumption of joint search and recovery teams. Here at Osan there will be a preliminary attempt to sort and identify some of the remains before an official repatriation ceremony next Wednesday after which they will head to Hawaii for a more thorough forensic examination. The remains were picked up earlier in the morning from Wonsan in the D.P.R.K. as part of the agreement struck between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump in Singapore.

The deal was the remains would be handed over immediately. But Pyongyang waited for what some see as a more auspicious day, that saw Koreans turn out to brave a heatwave, even on the southern edge of the demilitarized zone.

JACK BARTON DMZ "All across South Korea there were events like this one marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of armistice that brought major hostilities on the Korean peninsula to an end."

Kim Jong-un attended a similar ceremony in Pyongyang.

The handing over of remains marks a fulfilment by Kim Jong-un of a pledge made in Singapore and the timing has many analysts speculating that what the D.P.R.K. might hope for in return is the prompt signing of a formal peace agreement to replace the armistice and finally bring the Korean War to an end. Jack Barton, CGTN at the DMZ.