Japan “very concerned” about the presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine

The entry of North Korean troops into the Ukrainian conflict will have an impact “extremely significant” on the security of East Asia, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday during a visit to kyiv, where he promised to support Ukraine.

“This will not only worsen the situation in Ukraine, but will also have extremely significant implications for the security situation in East Asia”said Takeshi Iwaya, regarding the alleged engagement of North Korean troops in the Russian border region of Kursk.

“We are very concerned by this development and strongly condemn it”he added during a visit to Ukraine. For several weeks, there have been reports of Pyongyang sending thousands of troops to Russia, with the West and Ukraine saying they were already in the Russian border region of Kursk. The minister visited Bucha, a town near kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities against civilians early in the war.

Japan “will stand with Ukraine”

“Our position remains unchanged, that Japan will stand with Ukraine”he insisted. His Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga said the entry of North Korean troops into the Ukrainian conflict was “proof that the future of the security architecture, not only European, but also global, is being played out in Ukraine”. He described the visit of his Japanese counterpart as “important sign of solidarity, especially in such a difficult period”.

He also praised the links with Tokyo: “Although eight thousand kilometers separate us, our countries are very close in terms of values”. According to kyiv, some 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already deployed in Russia and have started fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region where the latter have been on the offensive since August. This deployment greatly worries Western countries which support Ukraine. The Kremlin has so far evaded questions about this presence of North Korean reinforcements.

But North Korea ratified a historic defense agreement with Russia on Monday, sealing their rapprochement, according to the official North Korean agency KCNA. Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed this mutual defense treaty, according to the Kremlin.