"Missing Korean War Soldiers, We Will Find Them Until the End"… South Korea-US Leaders Adopt 'Joint Statement on Identification'

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted the "Joint Statement on the Identification of Korean War Medal of Honor Recipients." This reflects their commitment to finding soldiers missing from the Korean War until the very end.

The Presidential Office announced on the 26th (local time), "The two leaders, after meeting the family of the late U.S. Army Sergeant Luther Story, whose identity was recently confirmed, at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Park in Washington DC the previous evening, adopted the 'Joint Statement of the President of the United States and the Republic of Korea on the Identification of Korean War Medal of Honor Recipients.'"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who are on a state visit to the United States, are consoling the family of Corporal Luther Story at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC on the 25th (local time) together with U.S. President Joe Biden and the First Lady.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Sergeant Story died on September 1, 1950, during the Battle of Nakdong River, where he stayed alone at the front to cover his company’s withdrawal amid fierce fighting with North Korean forces. In recognition of his valor, the highest U.S. military decoration, the Medal of Honor, was awarded posthumously to his father in 1951.

Earlier, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) under the U.S. Department of Defense excavated 652 unidentified remains of Korean War soldiers interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Hawaii in 2018. In 2021, DNA and other analyses began on 63 remains believed to be those who died in the 1950 Battle of Busan Perimeter. On April 6, 2023, the DPAA officially confirmed the identity of Sergeant Story and notified the Korean side and his family (Judy Wade, the child of Sergeant Story’s sister).

The Presidential Office described the identification of Sergeant Story’s remains as a meaningful case, as he was a Korean War veteran and a recipient of the United States’ highest Medal of Honor, whose identity was confirmed 73 years after his death. Through the joint statement, the two leaders said, "We will continue efforts to find missing soldiers like Sergeant Story," and added, "On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement and the ROK-U.S. alliance, we will reaffirm our respect and gratitude for the courageous actions of the soldiers who defended freedom, values, and democracy."

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