(VOVworld)- Officials from Japan and North Korea are holding their first government-level talks in four years.

Head of the Northeast Asian Department at Japan’s Foreign Ministry Keiichi Ono (Photo: Kyodo news)

Their talks will focus on the repatriation of the remains of Japanese servicemen who died in North Korea during World War II. This was the first official meeting between the leaders of both countries since Kim Jong Un became President of North Korea in December last year and the Democratic Party of Japan won Japan’s last elections. The Japanese delegation is led by the Head of the Northeast Asian Department at Japan’s Foreign Ministry Keiichi Ono. North Korea proposed that the talks be held by senior officials however Japan wanted the talks to be conducted at a higher level. The talks is expected to be held over two days at their embassies in Beijing. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the Head of the Japan’s cabinet office Osamu Fujimura said that Japan will participate in the talks while being aware that kidnapping is one of other pending issues between the two countries.