Japan to hold talks with North Korea

TOKYO, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Japan said Tuesday it will revive governmental talks with North Korea, partly in hope of retrieving the remains of Japanese who died there in World War II.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference the Aug. 29 meeting will be the first time in four years the two countries have had what he called "preliminary consultations," Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Fujimura said the preliminary talks would be followed by full-scale consultations between the two countries once various outstanding issues have been sorted out.

The discussions, set for Beijing, will definitely include the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Fujimura said.