U.S. envoy proposes talks on remains recovery to N. Korea: report

The United States' special representative for North Korea policy has proposed to Pyongyang that they resume their talks on recovering remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, according to a U.S. radio report Saturday.

In a letter by Republican Party Senator Kelly Ayotte sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the senator referred to the recent written proposal to North Korea made by Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, according to Voice of America. But it did not mention when the proposal was made.

The report came about one week after the North first referred to the proposal on Aug. 19 and said that it has accepted the request from the U.S.

Nearly 8,000 U.S. service members are listed as missing from the war, and the remains of more than half are estimated to be buried in the communist nation.

The U.S. has recovered more than 220 sets of remains since 1996, but it halted joint recovery efforts with North Korea in 2005.

The latest moves to resume the stalled recovery work came a month after North Korean senior officials met with their American counterparts in rare, high-level talks in New York on how to resume long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs. (Yonhap News)