The United States and North Korea have reached an agreement to resume recovering the remains of American servicemen missing from the Korean War.

The U.S. Defense Department says the agreement was reached after three days of talks in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

The deal calls for U.S. teams to work in two areas of North Korea where more than 2,000 U.S. troops are believed missing from the war from 1950 to 1953.

The Defense Department says search operations are expected to begin next year and will be the first since 2005, when the U.S. halted missions due to increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. statement says about 83,000 Americans are still missing from all conflicts. It notes that nearly 8,000 are from the Korean War, with 5,500 of those believed missing in North Korea.