Pentagon POW/MIA office asked what steps it could take if Trump and Kim reach a deal

Agency says situation mirrors eve of 2018 Singapore summit; offers to resume joint remains recovery

North Korea holds remains of about 5,300 US troops; joint excavations halted since 2005

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday photos that appear to show him with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their first summit in Singapore in 2018 and at their Panmunjom meeting in 2019. [Social media]
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday photos that appear to show him with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their first summit in Singapore in 2018 and at their Panmunjom meeting in 2019. [Social media]

The White House appears to have begun internal preparations for a potential North Korea-US summit, as President Donald Trump continues to signal his intent to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the end of the year. The moves have fueled speculation that Trump is laying the groundwork for a fourth face-to-face meeting with Kim.

Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said Monday that the White House had asked his office what steps it could realistically take if Trump and Kim reached an agreement. McKeague made the disclosure during a video discussion hosted by the National Committee on North Korea, a Washington-based nonprofit.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, known as DPAA, is a Defense Department body responsible for searching for, recovering, identifying and repatriating the remains of US service members.

"It's not unlike what happened before the Singapore summit in 2018," McKeague said. "We were asked again what realistically we could do if the president reaches an agreement with the North Korean leader."

The fact that the White House queried an agency with a North Korea portfolio about concrete steps it could take following a summit agreement is being read as a sign that the administration is actively preparing for the possibility of such a meeting.

DPAA told the White House it was ready to cooperate with North Korea on recovering the remains of US service members.

"I told the White House that, first, it would be very helpful if North Korea handed over remains it currently holds, and second, it would be helpful to resume the joint field recovery operations that last took place in 2005," McKeague said.

He also outlined a specific operational model for resuming joint excavations — the same approach used in the past: two recovery teams deployed separately to Unsan and Jangjin in North Korea, conducting four rotations per year, each lasting 45 days.

"North Korea is familiar with this model, so we are envisioning the same approach," McKeague said. "We have proposed this to the White House. We are ready."

The United States and North Korea conducted 37 joint recovery operations in North Korea between 1996 and 2005. Of the remains recovered during that period, 153 were identified as US service members.

McKeague did not disclose exactly when the White House made its inquiry. Given that Trump has recently made a series of public statements expressing his willingness to re-engage with Kim, the query was likely made recently as well.

Trump has emphasized his personal rapport with Kim and said he is open to meeting him this year. He has also significantly scaled back or canceled joint US-South Korea military exercises that North Korea has long opposed.

The White House's review of what concrete steps agencies could take in the event of a summit agreement is being read as a further signal that Trump is actively preparing for a fourth meeting with Kim.

During his first term, Trump held summits with Kim in Singapore in June 2018 and in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019. In June 2019, he met Kim at Panmunjom and briefly crossed the MDL into North Korean territory.

"Since the president has publicly said there is an opportunity to meet, we are hopeful," McKeague said. "He is willing to engage with the North Korean leader, just as he was in 2018."

McKeague added that the recovery of US remains could serve as a diplomatic channel for resuming dialogue between the two countries.

"I like to think of this mission first and foremost as a humanitarian one," McKeague said. "It can be a diplomatic tool that allows us to work with former adversaries or countries where there is geopolitical tension — an opportunity for dialogue, communication and humanitarian cooperation."

The resumption of joint remains recovery was agreed upon at the 2018 Singapore summit but stalled as broader negotiations broke down. DPAA currently estimates that the remains of approximately 5,300 US service members are still in North Korea.


sjy@heraldcorp.com