North Korea provided just 1 dog tag with 55 sets of war remains

WASHINGTON — A U.S. defense official says that when North Korea handed over 55 boxes of bones that it said are remains of American war dead, it provided only a single military dog tag — but no other information that could help U.S. forensics experts determine their individual identities.

The official, who discussed previously undisclosed aspects of the remains issue on condition of anonymity, says it probably will take months, if not years, to fully determine individual identities from the remains. The remains have not yet been confirmed by U.S. specialists to be those of American servicemen.

The official did not know details about the single dog tag, including the name on it, or whether it was even that of an American military member.