White House asked DPAA what it could do should Trump enter into deal with Kim: DPAA director

WASHINGTON — The White House has asked a Pentagon agency what it could do should U.S. President Donald Trump be able to reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the agency's director said Monday, another sign that Trump is looking to resume summitry with Kim.

Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), made the remarks during an online forum, noting that the DPAA has told the White House and the Defense Department that it is "ready" for engagement with Pyongyang for recovering the remains of U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. POW and MIA stand for prisoner of war and missing in action.

His remarks came as Trump has expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year, fueling speculation that he could rekindle his personal diplomacy that led to three meetings with Kim during his first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

"I would say that it's no different than the lead-up to the Singapore summit in 2018. We were asked again what could we do from an art of the possible if President Trump was able to enter into an agreement with the North Korean leader," he said during the forum hosted by the National Committee on North Korea, a nonprofit organization.

"We explained to the White House that No. 1, it would be very helpful for North Korea to turn over remains that they are holding, and secondly to resume those joint field missions (in North Korea) that last occurred in 2005," he added.

The DPAA has also told the White House said that it envisions pursuing a program under which two teams at North Korean sites -- one at Unsan and the other at Chosin -- operate four times a year for 42-day periods for the recovery work, according to McKeague.

His comment suggested that the Trump administration might be seriously considering reengagement with Pyongyang. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump is seeking a meeting with Kim, which could take place during his next trip to Asia, likely for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.

The DPAA has long hoped for the resumption of excavation and recovery operations in North Korea as the remains of some 5,300 U.S. troops are believed to be still in the North.

Washington and Pyongyang carried out joint excavation efforts from 1996-2005. Since the last recovery project, there have been just two unilateral turnovers of American troop remains to the U.S. -- one aided by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in 2007 and the other by Trump through his summit with Kim in Singapore in 2018.

McKeague pointed out that his agency has communicated to the White House that it is "ready" for troop recovery work with North Korea.

The DPAA director also stressed that he is "hopeful" about the potential for engagement with Pyongyang given Trump's pursuit of diplomacy with Kim.

"We are hopeful that ... as you all know, President Trump has reached out publicly to say there might be an engagement opportunity," he said. "He is willing to speak to the North Korean leader just as he did in 2018."

McKeague highlighted that cooperation over the return of troop remains can serve as a "tool of engagement" with a former foe.

"We like to think of this mission in particular as humanitarian first and foremost. But it's also a tool of engagement," he said.

"It's a tool of diplomacy that allows the U.S. in working particularly with a former enemy, or including a current country that has geopolitical tensions ... and using this engagement as an opportunity not only for dialogue but a channel of communications, and more importantly humanitarian cooperation."