North Koreans Hand Over Remains of U.S. War Dead

Preparing for more nuclear talks with the United States, North Korea on Monday handed over what it said were the remains of 17 American soldiers killed in the Korean War.

It was the fourth hand-over of remains since the end of the 1950-53 war.

The move was seen as a goodwill gesture and came a day after President Clinton traveled to the tense Korean border and warned the Communist north not to develop nuclear weapons.

Washington suspects that North Korea is developing nuclear arms and has said the Communist nation must first permit international inspections of its nuclear sites and account for U.S. soldiers missing in the Korean War before it improves ties.

The two countries, which have no formal relations, are scheduled to resume talks on the nuclear issue Wednesday in Geneva.

Hours after the remains were turned over, however, North Korea accused Clinton of provoking it with threats of war.

On his weekend visit to South Korea, Clinton warned that if the north develops and uses an atomic weapon, “we would quickly and overwhelmingly retaliate.”

North Korea’s government-run Korean Central News Agency retorted Monday that “if anyone dares to provoke us, we will immediately show him in practice what our bold decision is.” The statement did not specify what action would be taken.

Earlier in the day, North Korean soldiers brought 17 brown, wooden coffins bearing skeletal remains to the truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles the border 35 miles north of Seoul.

Vinyl bags in each coffin contained personal items such as buttons, coins, identification tags, buckles, a spoon and, in one case, dentures. Some appeared rusted from years in the soil.

Multinational honor guards from the American-led U.N. Command in Seoul took the coffins to the southern sector of the village for brief memorial services.

The remains, to be taken to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, are the latest of about 60 sets returned in the past three years. Command officials said that most of the earlier remains have not been identified and that not all the bones were human.

North Korea said the remains handed over Monday were discovered in April at two sites: one south of the capital, Pyongyang, and another at the northern end of the Korean Peninsula. U.S. troops fought in both areas.