U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, for returning the remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the Korean War.

"After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un," Trump tweeted late at night.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House said a military aircraft carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers had left the DPRK and was transferring the remains to the U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony is scheduled on Aug. 1.

The move showed that Pyongyang was fulfilling part of its commitment to recovering the remains of the U.S. war dead made during the Trump-Kim Singapore meeting on June 12, and Washington was encouraged by the move and "the momentum for positive change," the White House said.

Washington and Pyongyang also agreed to restart field operations in the DPRK to search for the estimated 5,300 soldiers unaccounted for during the 1950-1953 Korean War.