Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Vice President Mike Pence have reaffirmed the need to maximize pressure on North Korea, even as they welcomed inter-Korean dialogue ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics.

Abe and Pence held a joint news conference after meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. The vice president is in Japan on his way to the Winter Games' opening ceremony in South Korea on Friday.

Abe said the 2 exchanged views on the latest situations in North Korea and how to deal with the country. He said they confirmed that Japan and the US are 100 percent together.

Abe said they must face the fact that North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and missile development.

He said he and Pence reconfirmed the joint view that a nuclear-armed North is unacceptable, and that they must not be tricked by the country's charm offensive.

They also reconfirmed the need for the 2 countries, along with South Korea, to put the maximum pressure on North Korea.

Pence noted that the 2 Koreas marched under the same banner in past Olympics, but that the North carried out a nuclear test 8 months after the 2006 Games.

He said the US will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever. He vowed that the US will continue pressuring Pyongyang and aim for complete denuclearization.

Pence described the Japan-US alliance as a cornerstone of peace, prosperity and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region.

He added that the US is preparing to provide Japan with the latest defense system and will stay involved in various aspects of Japan's defense.