TOKYO - The Japanese government said Saturday that it welcomes the second summit between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) scheduled to take place in late February.

The Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that he hoped the summit will produce tangible results towards achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"We hope there will be more concrete results toward denuclearization than in the first summit," Iwaya said.

The White House said Friday that the second summit between US 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.