TOKYO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono held a conference over the phone on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, agreeing to coordinate closely to address the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The two sides also agreed to meet in mid-February before a second summit between the United States and the the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) scheduled in late February, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The Japanese government said Saturday that it welcomes the scheduled second U.S.-DPRK summit, and hopes the meeting will produce tangible results towards achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The White House said Friday that the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, "will take place near the end of February."

The announcement was made after Trump met with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Korean Workers' Party Central Committee.