Senator Ayotte Welcomes Resumption of U.S.-North Korea Search Talk

Statement

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today welcomed reports indicating that American and North Korean officials this week will meet to discuss resuming search and recovery operations for American service members still missing from the Korean War. According to the Department of Defense, 7,989 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, including 43 New Hampshire service members. Six New Hampshire service members also remain missing from the Vietnam War.

"The Soldier's Creed includes the following words: 'I will never leave a fallen comrade.' These words are just as true for our nation, and I will continue to urge the U.S. to resume joint search and recovery operations in North Korea so that we can fulfill our moral duty as a nation to find and bring home the remains of American military heroes missing in action," said Senator Ayotte. "Most Korean War veterans are in their 80s, and the U.S. Veterans Administration says close to 1,000 Korean War veterans die each day. We cannot wait any longer to resume this critical work."

In August, Senator Ayotte wrote to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging them to resume search and recovery operations to find and bring home the remains of American military heroes missing in action from the Korean War. Recovery efforts ceased in 2005 due to increased U.S.-North Korea tensions and the U.S. government's concerns about the safety of its personnel involved in the operations.

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