Japan and China have begun final negotiations for the handover of a 64-year-old Japanese woman who was taken into custody by Chinese authorities after fleeing North Korea in November, government sources said Tuesday.
The woman is married to a North Korean man who has reportedly been arrested by North Korean authorities, according to the sources.
It would be the first time that Japan has placed under its protection an asylum seeker from North Korea whose case has been made public. The woman's plight has been widely reported by the Japanese media in recent weeks.