In another sign that North Korea may be ending its decades-long isolation, leader Kim Jong-un and his officials are set to meet Japanese officials in Beijing this Wednesday, the Vancouver Sun reports.

The meeting is the first attempt in years to address animosities between the two countries that go back to Japan’s colonial occupation of Korean before World War II, and the kidnapping by North Korea of 17 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, who were then forced to tutor North Korean spies.

Some speculate North Korea may be looking to follow China’s example and develop special, free-market economic zones while maintaining a totalitarian government.