Japan to Hold Talks With North Korea

First meeting in four years will focus on returning the remains of Japanese soldiers and the abduction of Japanese nationals.

TOKYO says it will hold talks with North Korea for the first time in four years, seeking to retrieve the remains of Japanese who died in the closing days of World War II.

They will meet in Beijing on August 29 and discuss visits by Japanese to their relatives' burial sites in North Korea.

Tokyo also wants to make some progress on the issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said on Tuesday.