The Kuril Islands have been at the center of a territorial dispute since 1947 — a major barrier to a permanent peace treaty to formally end World War II and improve relations between Japan and Russia. The countries are inching closer to cooperation on the archipelago, but other issues have stymied substantial progress. Following a five-day trip to the Southern Kurils in June by a 70-member Japanese delegation, the first since 1998, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the delegation's talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on July 7. The two leaders agreed to have Japanese and Russian deputy foreign ministers meet in August to finalize joint economic projects in the Southern Kurils that may include salmon fishing, hospitality, medical care, transportation and hybrid wind-diesel power plants.