Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is planning to visit the United States later in the month to discuss how to address the issue of North Korea after the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics end, a Japanese government official said Saturday.

The minister is considering traveling to Washington for three days from March 16 to meet U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

During talks with Tillerson, Kono will reaffirm the importance of maintaining maximum pressure on Pyongyang to compel it to give up its nuclear weapons.

The two are also expected to affirm the resumption of U.S. joint military drills with South Korea which the two countries plan to suspend until the Winter Paralympics end on March 18, even though North Korea opposes the drills and denounces them as preparations for invasion.

The Japanese foreign minister seeks to ensure the need to maintain close ties among Japan, the United States and South Korea through the meetings, at a time when relations between the two Koreas are beginning to show signs of thawing.

The North sent delegations to attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pyeongchang Olympics and they met with South Korean President Moon Jae In. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un invited the president to visit the North, while Pyongyang also expressed readiness to hold talks with Washington.

The Japanese government is keeping a watchful eye on the recent shift in the North's diplomatic policy, saying Tokyo will continue pressuring North Korea until it is prepared to "seek a dialogue" and give up its nuclear and missile development programs.