About 8,000 US service members are listed as missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, including 5,500 in northern Korea. Joint efforts to recover remains began in 1996, according to the US Department of Defence. The work was suspended in 2005 after Washington said there wasn't enough security for its personnel.

Preparation for talks on restarting the search for remains comes as the countries pursue tentative discussions on resuming stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations.

The United States and the DPRK fought on opposite sides of the war and have never signed a peace treaty. Ties have been particularly tense in recent years over the DPRK's insistence on building a nuclear weapons program. The DPRK has criticized military drills between Seoul and Washington that end next week as practice for an invasion.

AP