U.S. President Donald Trump released the names on Thursday of two Army soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War whose remains were handed over by North Korea this year in a goodwill gesture.
Trump said the first remains identified by the U.S. military belonged to Army Master Sergeant Charles H. McDaniel, 32, of Vernon, Indiana, and Army Private First Class William H. Jones, 19, of Nash County, North Carolina.
“These HEROES are home, they may Rest In Peace, and hopefully their families can have closure,” Trump said in his Twitter post.
North Korea handed over 55 boxes containing the remains of war dead in July, fulfilling a pledge by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his June summit with the U.S. president in Singapore.
The remains, which were repatriated to Hawaii on Aug. 1, included only one “dog tag,” a form of identification in the U.S. military. There they were to undergo analysis at the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
The agency said earlier this month it had identified the first two American troops from the 55 boxes of remains, but declined to name them publicly, saying their relatives would be notified first.
More than 7,700 U.S. troops remain unaccounted for from the Korea War. About 5,300 were lost in what is now North Korea.
The Trump administration has hailed the handover of the remains as evidence of the success of Trump’s summit with Kim. The White House has also said it was looking at scheduling a second meeting between the two leaders.
The administration said on Wednesday it was ready to resume talks with North Korea after Pyongyang pledged to dismantle key missile facilities and suggested it would close its main Yongbyon nuclear complex in exchange for unspecified action by Washington.