[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1380-S1381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FULLEST ACCOUNTING--VIETNAM, WHY NOT NORTH KOREA, TOO

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to call to the attention 
of the Members what I honestly feel is an overlooked issue relative to 
one of the highest responsibilities that our Government has, and that 
is the full accountability of those armed services personnel who have 
been lost in action.
  We have always demanded the fullest possible accounting in Vietnam 
for those listed as missing-in-action, and the question that I pose 
today is, why not North Korea as well?
  The fate of more than 8,100 American servicemen from the Korean war 
remains unresolved. At least 5,433 of these were lost north of the 38th 
parallel. In Vietnam, by contrast, the number of unresolved cases is 
2,168, and Vietnam has cooperated in 39 joint field activities.
  I have a small chart here, Mr. President, that shows the unaccounted 
for in our foreign wars. Beginning in World War I, we have 1,648 
unaccounted for; World War II, 78,794; Korea, 8,177, and Vietnam, 
2,168. As I have said, out of the 8,177, 5,433 were lost north of the 
38th parallel.
  One can see that public opinion has prevailed in demanding a full 
accounting in Vietnam, and while we must maintain our commitment for 
accountability of all Americans who are lost, clearly, we have made 
significant progress in Vietnam as a consequence of a commitment and 
dedication to do so. So it seems strange that we would still have in 
North Korea a significant number of servicemen whose fates are unknown.
  The United States Government recently announced plans to contribute 
$2 million, through U.N. agencies, to relieve starvation in North 
Korea, certainly a worthy cause. The donation was consistent with other 
instances where the United States seeks to relieve human suffering 
despite disagreements with various governments in the receiving 
country.
  But what is inconsistent with United States policy is our failure to 
ensure that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea addresses the 
humanitarian issue which is of great concern to the American people: 
the resolution of the fate of servicemen missing in action since the 
end of the Korean war, those lying north of the 38th parallel.
  Relations between the United States and Vietnam--I give you this 
background as a reference--our relations with Vietnam did not begin to 
thaw until the Government of Vietnam agreed to joint field operations 
with United States military personnel to search for missing servicemen 
in Vietnam. We knew the general areas where conflicts had occurred or 
where aircraft had gone down. The pace and scope of normalization was 
commensurate with Vietnam's cooperation on the MIA issue and other 
humanitarian concerns.
  In virtually every discussion that our Government had with their 
Vietnamese counterparts, the MIA issue was paramount. I know that on 
the numerous occasions that I visited Vietnam, that was the one message 
we sent loudly and clearly: You have to cooperate with us on the MIA 
issue; you have to allow us to bring in our personnel in the joint task 
force teams; and you have to cooperate with us for a full 
accountability, otherwise our relationship will not go any further.
  So the Vietnamese received clear signals that progress and 
normalization of relations with the United States would come only after 
significant progress was made on the MIA issue.
  In contrast to our Vietnam policy, United States policy toward North 
Korea seems to lack this same focus with no explanation. The recent 
announcement regarding food aid for North Korea did not mention our 
interests in the MIA issue. There was no explanation as to why.
  The agreed framework between the United States and the Democratic 
People's Republic of Korea does not talk about cooperation on MIA's, 
even though the framework commits the United States to give the North 
Koreans free oil and to supply two highly advanced light water 
reactors, a total package that exceeds $5 billion, $4 billion alone for 
the reactors and some $500 million for the oil, not counting potential 
future aid for a grid system to distribute the power that the reactors 
will produce. North Korea simply does not have the transmission 
capability to handle the new reactors, so we can expect to be asked for 
approximately another billion dollars so that the power can go out and 
be distributed throughout the countryside.

  The agreed framework also envisions that the United States would lift 
its trade restrictions and normalize relations, regardless of, 
evidently, any movement on the MIA issue. The most obvious difference 
between Vietnam and North Korea is North Korea's nuclear program; the 
United States has 

[[Page S1381]]
an overriding national security interest in stopping the North Korean 
nuclear program. Nevertheless, I do not believe that we should have 
ignored the MIA issue. That is why I have introduced Senate bill 1293, 
legislation that would prevent establishing full diplomatic relations 
or lifting the trade embargo until the North Koreans have agreed to 
joint field operations.
  I recently had an opportunity to sit down with our dedicated armed 
services personnel in Hawaii, who are responsible for negotiating with 
the North Koreans on the issue. These are the people that actually 
negotiate relative to Americans missing in action. These are the people 
that identify the remains. They are very dedicated and knowledgeable 
people, doing a tremendous service for our country. It was clear from 
that briefing that joint field operations would have a high probability 
of success because, unlike in Vietnam, the United States has concrete 
evidence of the sites of mass U.N. burial grounds and prisoners of war 
camps located in North Korea. But United States personnel have had no 
access to those North Korean sites. The only thing preventing our 
personnel from going in and making these identifications is the 
Government of North Korea.
  The North Koreans have been unilaterally turning over some limited 
remains. Unfortunately, the North Koreans, without training in the 
proper handling of remains, have turned over excavated remains that 
have not been properly handled, that have been mixed, making 
identification vastly more difficult, if in some cases not impossible. 
Of the 208 sets of remains that have been turned over since 1990, 
unfortunately, only 5 sets have been identified.
  Despite the United States aid flowing to North Korea, the Koreans 
have repeatedly attempted to link progress on the remains issue to 
separate compensation. In other words, Mr. President, they expect 
repayment above and beyond their out-of-pocket costs. These amounts of 
money seem far in excess of the reimbursement costs for recovery, 
storage, and transportation of remains.
  The U.S. Government must stand by its policy not to buy remains. This 
would degrade the honor of those who died in combat on behalf of our 
country. Instead, the United States has offered to reimburse the North 
Koreans for reasonable expenses, as we have done in Southeast Asia over 
the last couple of decades. Talks to move the MIA remains and the 
reparation issue seem stalled at this moment. We have reason to believe 
that the progress is not what it should be relative to our ability to 
go into North Korea, to the sites where we know we are likely to find 
remains.
  Now, the United States has been careful not to link the nuclear issue 
with other policy concerns in North Korea. But it is not unreasonable 
for the United States to consider North Korea's behavior on other 
issues, such as the MIA issue, when considering whether to provide 
humanitarian assistance to this isolated, closed nation.
  I was over in Pyongyang last year and can say that, clearly, this is 
a country that is probably as isolated as any country on Earth. As a 
consequence, our inability to develop a dialog, other than that which 
was necessitated after the conversations concerning their efforts to 
develop a nuclear capability, has brought this whole picture into 
focus. But the bottom line is that in our negotiations we should demand 
that we have access so that we can address our responsibility and ask 
for the fullest possible accounting for those missing, those 5,433 that 
we believe are still unidentified in North Korea, for the families of 
those airmen still missing more than 40 years after the end of the 
conflict. There is no more humane action that North Korea could take 
than to let Americans have sufficient access to try to resolve as many 
cases as possible.
  Mr. President, we have demanded the fullest accountability from the 
Government of Vietnam on the MIA issue, and we should demand the same 
of the Government of North Korea.
  I urge my colleagues to reflect on the merits of the legislation I 
have offered, Senate bill 1293, that would prevent establishing full 
diplomatic relations or lifting the current trade embargo until the 
DPRK, the Government of North Korea, has agreed to joint field 
operations that would allow us to have access to those sites where we 
believe we can identify and find remains.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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