Japanese and South Korean representatives to the six-party talks on North Korea denuclearization agreed Monday to step up diplomatic efforts in a way that the recent "peace momentum" on the Korean Peninsula could lead to resolving the North Korea nuclear issue, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

Kenji Kanasugi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Lee Do Hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, also agreed to maintain close communication in pursuit of the goal of peacefully resolving the North Korea nuclear issue, a statement released by the ministry said.

Toward that end, the two sides held in-depth discussion on ways to stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways to engage North Korea in meaningful dialogue, it said.

"Peace momentum" refers to the official talks between North and South Korea scheduled for Tuesday at the border truce village of Panmunjeom, the first official talks between the two governments in more than two years.

A key topic to be discussed at the meeting of senior officials is North Korea's possible participation in the Winter Olympics to be held Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The talks were quickly arranged after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address that he wants to improve ties with Seoul and may send a team to the Winter Olympic Games.

The six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, were last held in December 2008 and have been deadlocked since.