North Korea-Japan bilateral talks held in Beijing after four years; Pyongyang allows Japanese press and citizens’ group to visit World War II burial site for the Japanese war deads
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    • After four long years, North Korea and Japan held its fist bilateral talk in Beijing recently from August 29-31, 2012. At the end of the three-day long meeting, the working level representatives from both the parties agreed to hold bilateral level talk at a higher level as soon as possible. They also agreed to discuss issues of “mutual concern” in the future bilateral talks. 1 However, while the Japanese side insists that issues of “mutual concern” clearly include North Korea’s involvement in the abduction of Japanese nationals, North Korea’s stance on including that issue remains unclear. 2

    In a significant development, Pyongyang on August 30, opened to Japanese press and citizens group its burial ground Japanese nationals who died in North Korea during or shortly after the World War II. Members of Zenkaku Seishinkai, a Japanese organization dedicated to paying respects at the graves of Japanese dead and repatriating their remains, also visited the site and offered prayers. 3

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