Japan’s FM visits Ukraine to discuss North Korea-Russia ties

Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to address concerns over North Korea’s expanding military alliance with Russia, including reports of thousands of North Korean troops deployed to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

During his visit, Iwaya is set to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to reaffirm Japan’s steadfast support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion and explore the possibility of imposing further sanctions on Moscow, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

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The agenda includes Tokyo’s “grave concern” over the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Intelligence assessments from the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine suggest that up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia under a significant defence agreement between the two nations.

Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on Aug. 6.

The agreement requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.

Iwaya’s visit comes after the Ukrainian capital was attacked overnight by Russian drones, damaging residential buildings and infrastructure in Kyiv’s Obolon district. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian air defenses neutralized up to a dozen drones, said the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhii Popko.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 83 Shahed drones in the early hours of Saturday morning, the Ukrainian air force reported. Of those, 55 were shot down, while another 30 veered off course or were lost after electronic jamming, it said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that it had destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones, including 20 over the western Kursk region and 11 over the Bryansk region.

With inputs from agencies.