WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Thursday said a U.S. military aircraft carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the Korean War had left the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) earlier on the same day.
According to a statement issued by the White House press secretary, a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft containing remains of fallen service members has departed from the DPRK's Wonsan.
It said the C-17 is transferring the remains to U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on Aug. 1.
The returning showed that Pyongyang is fulfilling part of its commitment made in the Singapore meeting, and Washington is encouraged by the actions "and the momentum for positive change," the White House added.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the United States will receive the first sets of soldiers' remains from the DPRK soon.
Washington and Pyongyang also agreed to restart field operations in the DPRK to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans missing in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
As part of the outcomes of the U.S.-DPRK leaders' Singapore summit in mid-June, Pyongyang and Washington agreed to commit to recovering the remains of the U.S. war dead and those missing in action during the war, including an immediate repatriation of those already identified.