A temple in South Korea says it will return a Buddhist statue stolen from a Japanese temple after holding a memorial service for it next year.

The statue has been designated a tangible cultural asset in Japan. It was stolen from Kannonji Temple on the island of Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture in 2012. It was later found in South Korea when the thieves tried to sell it.

Busuksa Temple in central South Korea claimed ownership of the statue and filed a lawsuit. A provincial court in South Korea said it should be given to Busuksa on the grounds it had been stolen by Japanese pirates centuries before.

But in October last year, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that the Japanese temple owns the statue. It's now in the custody of the South Korean government.

Busuksa Temple told NHK that Kannonji Temple had agreed to allow the statue to be temporarily moved to its facilities for rituals to be held as soon as March.

It added that people related to the temple's religious activities had submitted a document to the Japanese temple that guarantees the statue's return.

Kannonji Temple will house the statue for the first time in 13 years if it is returned next year.