U.S., N.K. hold talks on excavating soldiers` remains in P`yang

North Korea and the United States started talks Tuesday on the issue of expanding the number of sites for the excavation of remains of American soldiers killed in North Korea during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

A government official said that Pyongyang and Washington were holding a working-level meeting that would last for five days from Tuesday in accordance with an agreement they signed in December. The accord stipulated a greater number of locations for the excavation of American soldiers` remains, expanding from the previous Unsan and Kujang in North Pyongan Province to regions near Changjin Lake in South Hamgyong Province. Col. Park Im-Soo, North Korea`s chief military representative at the truce village of Panmunjom, is leading the North Korean delegation, while the U.S. team is headed by Alan Liotta, vice director of the Defense Department`s remains recovery project, he said.

The two nations agreed in Kuala Lumpur in December to jointly carry out the excavation project in North Korea on five occasions from April to November. The United States will pay the North about $4.5 million (5.4 billion won) for the work, about twice the amount provided for last year`s work.

Kim Young-Sik spear@donga.com