Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday, where he met with his counterpart and conveyed Japan¡¯s continued support for Kyiv while criticizing North Korea¡¯s dispatch of troops for Russia¡¯s war against its neighbor, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

Iwaya¡¯s unannounced trip comes amid growing fears over the conflict¡¯s expansion, with the top Japanese diplomat calling the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific ¡°inseparable.¡±

The foreign minister, who took up his post last month, conveyed ¡°serious concerns¡± to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha about the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, including Pyongyang¡¯s decision to deploy more than 10,000 troops to Russia for combat operations against Ukrainian forces, the Foreign Ministry said.