The defense chiefs of the United States and Japan have reportedly agreed to work toward the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of North Korea's nuclear program.

According to Japan's Kyodo News, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters on Sunday that he and newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reached the agreement during their phone talks.

Kishi reportedly said that the two sides agreed to continue to work together toward the goal of CVID of all of Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges.

In addition, the defense chiefs reportedly agreed to cooperate to block illicit ship-to-ship transfers by North Korean vessels to cut off sources of funds for the North's nuclear and missile programs.

Meanwhile, the two sides also agreed that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which obliges Washington to respond to an attack on Japanese-administered territories, applies to the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.

The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan but claimed by China.