A Japanese group on Sunday visited the graves of relatives who died in what is now North Korea during the chaos at the end of World War II.

"I could finally come," said Yasuko Irie, 73, holding a family photo and making an offering of rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture where her deceased father, Minoru, hailed from. "I wanted to come while my mother was still alive but I think they have met in heaven."

Irie and others visited burial sites at the Ryongsan cemetery in Pyongyang after receiving approval last month for the visit from North Korea, which has no diplomatic relations with Japan. The group arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday and will stay there until next Tuesday.