Pence presents American flag used at repatriation ceremony to Korean War Veterans Memorial
Vice President Mike Pence participated in a flag presentation to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation on Thursday. The American flag he presented was flown during the repatriation ceremony of recently recovered remains of presumed U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War.
"When I was presented this flag... I knew where it belonged. It belonged here on this hallowed ground, the Korean War Veterans Memorial," said Pence. "We will never relent in our effort to bring our missing fallen home."
Thirty-six thousand American soldiers died in the Korean War, which took place from 1950 to 1953. About 7,700 are listed as missing.
The vice president accepted the remains at a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii last month, a request made by President Trump during his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. 55 cases of war remains were retrieved from North Korea as part of the agreement. The Defense Department told CBS News earlier this month that so far, two individuals have been identified from the repatriated remains. Their names have not yet been announced, however.
"This flag was among those flags that graced the cases of some 55 remains of fallen American heroes and it was my great honor to receive it," said Pence.
Thursday's ceremony came as South Korean President Moon Jae-in told reporters in Seoul on Thursday that Kim was interested in arranging a second meeting with President Trump "in the near future, in order to move the denuclearization process along quickly."
Pence welcomed Kim's latest commitment to allow nuclear inspectors to testing sites and to permanently dismantle the North's main nuclear complex as "good news" and said the administration looks forward to further progress along the Korean Peninsula.