Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed Wednesday to urge North Korea to denuclearize in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" way while keeping existing U.N. sanctions in place.

After meeting with Pompeo, Kono told reporters that the two foreign ministers will meet again after a U.S.-North Korea summit slated for June 12 in Singapore.

(Pool photo)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to meet Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm the importance of urging North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Tokyo has asked Washington to raise the long-standing issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, as Abe has made resolving it a priority. Pyongyang has claimed that the issue is settled.

Kono and Pompeo reaffirmed that the abduction issue will be taken up when Trump sits down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Japanese government official said.

Pompeo, who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has taken the lead in U.S. negotiations with Pyongyang.

The foreign chiefs' meeting came as the Trump administration is stepping up preparations for the summit with Kim that Trump reinstated last week.

Despite Washington later clarifying that the United States will maintain its policy of putting maximum pressure on Pyongyang, Trump said Friday that he does not want to use the "maximum pressure" phrase.

"We understand it's a message (to North Korea) that he hopes he won't have to carry out (further) sanctions," Kono told reporters after the meeting.

The Japanese government is seeking to gather information and strengthen bilateral coordination in the run-up to the first-ever summit between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

After getting an update on U.S. preparations for the upcoming meeting, Kono, who also met with Pompeo in May, said the two have agreed to hold phone talks "if the situation changes."