Lawmakers are optimistic that North Korea's decision to return the remains of five U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean war will lead to better relations between the United States and the communist nation. ``This is a humanitarian gesture at this time, and we hope we can get into other areas at a later date,'' Rep. G.V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery, D-Miss., said Monday of the first North Korean repatriation since 1954. Montgomery, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, will head a six-member congressional delegation that travels to the border village of Panmunjom on May 28 to receive the five sets of remains. The delegation will then give the remains to the U.S. military, which will take them to a laboratory in Honolulu for identification. Montgomery said North Korean authorities told them that two sets of remains include military dog tags that should enable authorities to identify them quickly. The Defense Department estimates that about 8,200 U.S. servicemen were unaccounted for at the end of the war, with 345 of those listed as possible prisoners of war. ``I am very hopeful that this will be the first brick, if you will, in improving the relationship which will mean literally hundreds of remains,'' said Rep. Frank McCloskey, D-Ind., a delegation member, said at a news conference with Montgomery. U.S. officials have been working on obtaining U.S. remains from the 1950-53 Korean war since November 1989, Montgomery said. He credited the work of China in assisting the U.S. effort and McCloskey acknowledged the help of the Soviet Union. The United States and North Korea have no formal diplomatic relations, and the U.S. military has 43,000 troops in rival South Korea to deter an attack from the North. ``I'm looking forward to ending this chapter on the Korean war and getting on with a better relationship,'' McCloskey said. In addition to Montgomery and McCloskey, the delegation will include Reps. James H. Bilbray, D-Nev.; Bob Stump, R-Ariz.; Bob Traxler, D-Mich.; and Curt Weldon, R-Pa.
