To date, five men have been identified of the 77 sets of remains that have been repatriated from North Korea since 1996, as a result of joint recovery operations between the U.S. and the D.P.R.K. According to the Central Identification Laboratory (CILHI) in Hawaii, ten more sets of remains are nearing the end of the forensic identification process and should be returned soon to their families for burial.

Identification of remains that are returned through the joint recovery operations is an entirely separate issue from identification of remains that have been buried as unknowns at the Punchbowl cemetery in Hawaii since the end of the Korean war. When the war was over, the United States and South Korea located a number of remains in South Korea, about 400 of which could not be identified. During Operation Glory, in 1954, the North Koreans unilaterally returned some 4,000 U.N. remains, approximately 460 of which were Americans who could not be identified. These remains were buried in Hawaii, along with the unidentified remains from South Korea, and became known as the Punchbowl unknowns.

With development of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) technology, it was hoped that the Punchbowl remains might now be identified. Two test cases were disinterred last year and processed for identification. As we have reported previously, scientists have been stumped by an unexpected inability to extract DNA from the Punchbowl remains. The problem apparently stems from a chemical that was applied to the remains before burial in the 50s.

AFDIL, the laboratory that extracts DNA from the remains and sequences it for identification, reports some progress, but also a new obstacle, in their efforts to move forward with the Punchbowl remains identification process. Previously, AFDIL scientists were not able to separate the DNA from the bone itself. The progress has come by changing methods of extraction from mechanical to chemical.

This process involves the use of a commercially purchased filter. Although the scientists now seem to be able to separate the DNA from the bone, new problems have emerged because the filters are contaminated with DNA from their previous handlers. This foreign DNA taints the results of the sequencing. Evidently, the process has been idling at this stage for over a month, as of this writing. AFDIL states that they haven't given up, but apparently, they have not yet come up with a solution.

Meanwhile, CILHI says they will disinter another two sets of Punchbowl remains sometime in October, to see if they present the same problems as the two that were disinterred last year. We will keep you posted, as information becomes available to us.

By the way, about 1,680 families of Korean War missing have donated reference DNA samples to date, even though more than 2,600 different families have been contacted. With more than 8,200 men missing, the family reference data base is far less than it needs to be to get reliable identifications. AFDIL says they should have at least 45% of the total family population to enable positive identifications. All families are encouraged to donate a DNA sample.