In his tweet, Trump said that the move did not come as a surprise to him and he's looking forward to his meeting with Kim.

"Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon!" the US President tweeted.

The remains, 55 in total, were received by US Vice President Mike Pence.

Addressing the gatherers at the Hawaii air base, Pence said: "Some have called the Korean War the 'forgotten war,' but today, we prove these heroes were never forgotten. Today, our boys are coming home."

"Our nation has worked tirelessly to keep our sacred promise to leave no man behind. And while several hundred of the missing fallen have been returned, for more than a decade, as a result of North Korea's nuclear threats and escalations, search-and-recovery efforts have been suspended - until today," he added.

The US President thanked his deputy too.

"Incredibly beautiful ceremony as U.S. Korean War remains are returned to American soil. Thank you to Honolulu and all of our great Military participants on a job well done. A special thanks to Vice President Mike Pence on delivering a truly magnificent tribute!" he wrote on Twitter.

The remains were earlier sent to South Korea and reached Hawaii on Wednesday evening. It will now undergo forensic tests to determine whether they were actually slain during the war or not.

The said tests could take years.

The US-North Korea diplomatic ties are inching towards normalcy, after enduring a turbulent 2017 and an early 2018.

The two countries scripted history last month as Donald Trump of the US and Kim Jong-un of North Korea became the first heads of their respective states to hold a meeting in person.

The said meeting took place in Singapore on June 12.

Image: Sgt. Quince Lanford/USDoD