Report: Fallen North Korea soldiers of Vietnam 'enshrined' in Pyongyang

SEOUL, March 26 (UPI) -- North Korea keeps the remains of 27 fallen soldiers who died during the Vietnam War at a national cemetery in Pyongyang, according to a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan.

The Choson Sinbo reported Tuesday the remains of 27 North Korean troops who died overseas are interred in the Great Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs' Cemetery in the North Korean capital.

"The remains of 14 Korean People's Army soldiers buried in Vietnam for decades, came to be housed in the Cemetery of Fallen Fighters of the Korean People's Army in Mangyongdae starting September 2002," the newspaper stated.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War in 2013, Kim Jong Un moved the remains of North Korean soldiers who died in Vietnam to the Great Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs' Cemetery, according to the Choson Sinbo.

The newspaper added North Korea helped the people of Vietnam "by shedding blood," and that the bilateral assistance "formed goodwill between North Korea and Vietnam."

The article said the Vietnam War officially began in 1964 and ended in 1973; U.S. and other historians have said the war ended in 1975.

The countries' relations were in the spotlight before and during the Hanoi summit, when Kim met U.S. President Donald Trump for the second time.

Vietnamese records indicate the two countries did agree to a deployment of North Korean troops to Vietnam in September 1966, according to South Korean news service Tongil News.

North Korea may have deployed ten MiG-17 fighter aircraft and sent troops to fight with the North Vietnamese in 1966 and 1967.

The talks in Vietnam collapsed in February, but Washington and Seoul are coordinating on North Korea policy.

News 1 reported Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korea counterpart Kang Kyung-hwa are to meet this Friday in Washington.

The two sides are expected to share information on recent North Korea developments, according to the report.

North Korea recently reversed a decision to pull out of the inter-Korea liaison office in Kaesong.