TOKYO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Trump's efforts in the U.S. midterm elections in telephone talks on Friday morning, Japan's top government spokesperson said.

According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Trump was appreciative of Abe's praise and expressed his continued will to work closely with the Japanese prime minister.

"Frequent exchanges between the leaders, including this phone conversation, demonstrate the firm Japan-U.S. alliance," Suga was quoted as saying.

Following Tuesday's midterm elections in the United States, the Republicans held onto their majority in the Senate and the Democrats retook the House of Representatives, leaving a divided congress.

The talks lasted for about 10 minutes, during which other issues such as trade and issues pertaining to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were not discussed, Suga said, in contrary to earlier remarks made earlier by a government source.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is planning to visit Japan next week to hold talks with Abe.

Pence's planned visit to Japan comes ahead of his trip to Singapore and Papua New Guinea to attend summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' meeting, respectively.