North Korea said Monday that the remains of U.S. soldiers from the Korean War are "being neglected," according to The Associated Press.
An unidentified spokesperson for the North Korean military said in a statement that the American remains are "left here and there uncared [for] and carried away en masse" after floods and construction projects. AP reports that the statement is intended to "pressure Washington to resume recovery efforts" — which would also provide North Korea with more money.
Of the 8,000 missing U.S. soldiers from the war, as many as 5,300 may be in North Korea. AP notes that the U.S. suspended its efforts to recover the soldiers' remains after North Korea announced its plans to build a long-range rocket in 2012. Since the Korean War ended with an armistice, North Korea and the U.S. are "still technically at war."
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