A Japanese museum has acknowledged that it has Korean helmets and armor dating back to the Joseon Dynasty in its collection, an admission that is expected to spur talks about the return of the relics to Korea.

Tokyo National Museum curator Tomita Jun says the museum owns articles that were used by the Joseon Dynasty's royal family. He made the remark during a meeting with a South Korean civic group at the Japanese Diet on Monday.

As there are no records saying the items went to Japan through donation or other methods, the relics are believed to have been stolen.

An official of a state-run cultural property agency in Japan who attended the meeting said that four-thousand-422 assets which originated from the Korean Peninsula are held at four national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Kyushu.