Search for MIA troops in N. Korea to resume

WASHINGTON -- Wounded in both legs and wearing a U.S. Army field coat peppered with bullet holes, 1st Lt. Robert Schmitt led a desperate U.S. hilltop assault against advancing Chinese forces in one of the bloodiest battles of the Korean War. He never returned.

The hunt for the remains of thousands of fallen American troops like Schmitt, missing from a conflict fought six decades ago, is about to resume in North Korea as tensions ease between the wartime enemies.

A decade of searching that led to the recovery and identification of remains of 92 troops was suspended seven years ago, due to U.S. worries about the security of its personnel.

That ended the only cooperation between the militaries of the two nations, which formally remain at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with a cease-fire and armistice, not a formal peace treaty.

While Washington says the renewed search for remains is a purely humanitarian endeavor, the October resumption agreement, through which North Korea receives millions of dollars in compensation, comes amid intense efforts to coax the impoverished country into nuclear concessions. That culminated last week in a commitment by the North to freeze nuclear activities and allow international nuclear inspections in exchange for food aid.

Searches are expected to begin in April.

It could be months or years before the renewed searches yield more identifications among the 5,300 service members still classified as missing in action in North Korea.

The resumed hunt, with two teams of 30 U.S. members each, will focus on two areas where more than 2,000 soldiers and Marines are recorded as missing: in Unsan County, north of the capital, Pyongyang, and farther north near the Chosin Reservoir, the area where Schmitt died.

Maj. Carie Parker, spokeswoman for the Pentagon's Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, said North Korea would receive about $5.7 million for the first four recovery operations through September. That is compensation for provision of services including labor, fuel, food, transportation, water and security.