Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba used an online meeting of Group of Seven leaders on Saturday to raise alarm over growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, particularly North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia, warning that the developments have a “direct impact” on security in the Indo-Pacific region.
North Korea stunned the world in recent months by sending over 10,000 troops to Russia for its war in Ukraine, marking Pyongyang’s first large-scale military deployment since the Korean War.
The move has unnerved Japan, South Korea and the U.S., with officials now pointing to a clear link between the Ukraine conflict and Asia’s increasingly fraught security environment.
