To establish a more conciliatory mood at the ongoing bilateral fisheries talks, Korea and Japan have launched a joint research project on the operation of Korean fishing boats in japanese waters, officials said yesterday. Officials at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said they dispatched two guides to Japan for that purpose. The Korea-Japan fisheries talks resumed last month. The two guides will board a Japanese boat and examine whether Korean fishing boats are adhering to the fisheries agreements or self-imposed controls when operating in the western Sea of Japan.