U.S. Will Open Office in Hanoi to Pursue MIA Cases
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HANOI — The United States has agreed to establish its first official presence in Communist Vietnam, retired Gen. John Vessey said Saturday.
In a joint statement with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach, Vessey said that Washington will open a temporary office in Hanoi to resolve the cases of the 2,278 U.S. soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War.
Vessey, reading the joint statement after two days of talks with Thach, also said both governments want to normalize relations and will continue talks on the subject.
In the statement, Vessey expressed U.S. appreciation for Vietnam’s cooperation in improving efforts to resolve the MIA issue.
But Thach gave a noncommittal answer when asked if he agreed to Washington’s plan to normalize relations with Hanoi in exchange for Vietnam’s cooperation in ensuring that a United Nations peace plan succeeds in Cambodia.
“I have not accepted and I have not rejected,” he said.
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