CHEORWON, South Korea –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency deployed a team of five multifunctional experts to the Republic of Korea during the week of May 11 – 15, 2026.
The team observed current ROK recovery operations in the Demilitarized Zone at White Horse Hill and conducted a joint observation mission at ROK Guard Post 613 in the vicinity of Hill 111.
The mission was conducted in conjunction with DPAA’s sister organization in South Korea, the Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification. MAKRI is the ROK Agency responsible for recovering, identifying, and repatriating the remains of Korean War service members, both South Korean and allied forces. In addition, MAKRI supports DPAA efforts to locate and identify American personnel still unaccounted for.
“MAKRI is one of DPAA’s most important international partners, and their support is vital to our ability to fulfil the Agency’s mission of providing long-sought answers to the families of our missing service members,” said Dr. Dawn Berry, Indo-Pacific chief of research for Korea, Cold War and China.
The purpose of the visit was to re-engage DPAA’s international partners and assess the feasibility of conducting joint US-ROK remains investigation and recovery operations in fiscal year 2027 at Hill 111 and the wider DMZ. This mission represents renewed U.S. efforts to return to the DMZ to conduct humanitarian remains investigation and recovery operations since 2021.
The DMZ is a 160 by two and a half mile-wide buffer zone that separates the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from the ROK, established in 1953 under the Korean Armistice Agreement.
“The DMZ is a high priority area for the DPAA, and the Indo-Pacific Research and Operations teams have been working for years to advance our knowledge of losses in the DMZ and be prepared for any future opportunities to conduct field investigations and recoveries there,” said Berry.
There is one unaccounted-for US service member missing at Hill 111, U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Carl Lindquist, lost on 25 July 1953. There are approximately 1,000 unaccounted-for U.S. personnel believed to have been lost in the DMZ. A quarter of those personnel are assessed to be south of the Military Demarcation Line that separates North and South Korea, and potentially accessible for investigation and recovery.
“The re-invigorated investigation at Hill 111 and seeking ways forward with this case speaks volumes about the commitment of the U.S. military to their personnel, such that no one is ever left behind,” said Dr. Gregery Berg, DPAA laboratory manager.
Access to and activity within the DMZ is tightly controlled by the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission which is the official body responsible for administering the DMZ on Korean Peninsula under the 1953 Armistice Agreement. The command’s support is essential to DPAA’s return to the DMZ and are key partners in facilitating both MAKRI’s and DPAA’s humanitarian mission.
With more than 7,000 unrecovered personnel from the Korean War, DPAA is looking to expand its humanitarian mission into the DMZ in FY27 and beyond.
“Our return to the DMZ is significant due to the high number of those still missing inside this area of Korea,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jeremy Smith, Indo-Pacific deputy director and mission lead. “The support of United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission and MAKRI is vital to our success. This humanitarian mission is universal in scope and has touched the lives of so many that were affected by the Korean War.”
DPAA team for this mission also included Gabe Zinni, Indo-Pacific senior planner for Korea, Cold War, and China, Mark Stevens, Indo-Pacific senior regional planner and mission second-in-command, and Chris Jo, DPAA Korean liaison officer and linguist.