美국무부 '북, 유해송환 금전요구 안했다…돈 오가지 않아'

About the return of those remains -- reports and government officials say that in past cases, the U.S. had reimbursed Pyongyang for the costs of the search for them and their return, but, they say, that was not the case this time.
Lee Ji-won reports.
The U.S. says it paid no money to North Korea for the return of the remains of American troops last week.

According to CNN on Saturday, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the Secretary of Defense does have the authority to reimburse the North, or any other country, for expenses associated with the recovery and storage of remains.
But in this instance, she said, North Korea did not ask for money and no money changed hands.

She went on to say that the repatriation was a tangible step toward fulfilling the commitment North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made to President Donald Trump in Singapore last month.

The remains handed over were in 55 boxes brought back on an American military plane that flew to the North to pick them up.

Prior to the return, a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency official had said that, though the U.S. government does not pay any government or individual for the remains of missing Americans,... it is authorized to reimburse the North for the costs of the operation, from recovery to return.

A Congressional Research Service report showed that Washington paid 28 million U.S. dollars to North Korea as reimbursement for the recovery of remains returned between1996 and 2005.

North Korea experts say the fact that Pyongyang did not request monetary compensation this time is unusual.

Some say Kim Jong-un wants to show his decisiveness and sincerity in implementing the agreements made with the U.S., which would also encourage Washington to do its part.

There are also suggestions that it could be as the North knows the U.S. would not be able to pay them right now anyway.

"Paying them could be a violation of the sanctions. It would be hard for the U.S. to do that while telling other countries to comply."

The expert said Pyongyang might ask for compensation later if their ties get better, and he also noted that, in the past, reimbursement was paid later, after the soldiers were identified from their DNA.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.