Japan reportedly plans to return ancient royal books from the Joseon Dynasty to Korea on December first at the earliest.

A source on Japanese issues said that Tokyo has agreed to return the 12-hunded books held by the Imperial Household Agency in Japan on December first. The source said detailed discussions are taking place to return the royal documents, including the Joseon Wangsil Uigwe.

A Foreign Ministry official said that the books would be transported over multiple flights, as it was noted that all the texts could be lost in the case of an accident if they are transported in a single trip.

The official said that working-level discussions were still under way and that a date for the return had not been fixed.

A bilateral agreement that was effectuated on June tenth set out that Japan must return by December tenth one-thousand-205 books that it plundered during its occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda brought five royal Korean books as the first batch of a one-thousand-205 book collection on his visit to Korea in October. The remaining 12-hundred books are yet to be returned.